Fizzy Onyeachonam jailed for eight years

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-28148071
A Nigerian in England was convicted of running a lottery scam.

Emails showed victims pleaded with Onyeachonam to send them money to pay for healthcare, while some died before he could be brought to justice.

Some extra detail

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2679755/Nigerian-conman-called-Fizzy-loved-champagne-scammed-pensioners-life-savings-fake-lottery-fund-lavish-party-lifestyle.html

Nigerian conman called 'Fizzy' because he loved champagne so much scammed pensioners out of their life savings with fake lottery to fund lavish party lifestyle

Frank Onyeachonam, from London, ran the UK end of global lottery scam
He targeted vulnerable pensioners and extracted from £2,000 to £600,000
Meanwhile, he enjoyed a life of fast cars, champagne and designer clothes
Pictures show he spent cash on Rolex watches, Porsches and Maseratis

In the UK, 38-year-old Onyeachonam conned pensioners out of sums from £2,000 to £600,000, deliberately targeting his victims because they were potentially vulnerable to his tactics

Investigators traced 14 victims - mainly from the U.S. but including one from Britain - who were defrauded of a total of around £900,000.
But detectives believe this is the 'tip of the iceberg' with evidence suggesting there may have been as many as 400 victims and the sum may be as high as £30 million.

[He] had so much cash he once spelled his name out in it and posted a picture of it on Facebook

The full news story is quite an eye-opener.

Some more information worth noting

http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/news-listings/403-champagne-fraudster-loses-his-fizz

In a variation on a traditional scam that has not been seen before, Frank Onyeachonam’s victims were encouraged to set up ‘legitimate’ businesses with accompanying bank accounts, which were then used to launder the proceeds of the fraud. As a result, some of the victims were themselves investigated by law enforcement.

On summing up, Her Honour Judge Poulet said by giving a not guilty plea, Onyeachonam “showed no remorse” and he continued to offend following his arrest “with an arrogance that is unbelievable”.

Many victims took out high value loans, believing they would be able to pay them back once they received their lottery winnings. As a result, one victim in the United States lost £60,000 and her house, whilst another in the UK ran up debts of £90,000