Merrick man charged in alleged $30M elder fraud scheme
A Merrick man was one of three charged in federal court on Wednesday in connection with a scheme to defraud seniors out of millions in fees to collect non-existent cash prizes.
According to U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue, Shaun Sullivan, 37, of Merrick, Tully Lovisa, 55, of Huntington Station, and Lorraine Chalavoutis, 61, of Greenlawn, were arraigned on Wednesday on multiple charges of mail fraud, perjury and money laundering.
The three made close to $30 million off of their victims, according to an indictment unsealed on Wednesday.
“The defendants perpetrated a cruel hoax on their victims, many of them elderly and vulnerable, by sending promotional mailings that falsely claimed that they would receive tens of thousands of dollars in prize money if they paid a fee,” Donoghue said.
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