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Father-son scammers sentenced, another suspect indicted

A Brooklyn man has been sentenced to five years in prison for scamming elderly victims out of their savings. The U.S. Attorney's Office said Corey Buddle, 25, along with co-conspirators from Jamaica, led elderly people - locally and around the country - to believe they had won cash prizes of more than $1 million and, in at least one case, a Mercedes Benz. The victims were told they would just have to pay “taxes” and other administrative expenses in order to collect their “prizes.”

One victim sent a total of $130,000 in 16 packages via UPS or mail to Buddle. Another victim made 26 deposits adding up to approximately $140,000 into Buddle’s accounts.

In total, authorities say he victimized a total of 11 individuals out of approximately $428,000. Buddle’s father, Horace, was also convicted and sentenced to one-year home incarceration for his role in the scheme.

Buddle and his father were indicted in February 2014. Their conviction was the result of an investigation by U.S. Postal Inspection Service and special agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations.

In another case, a federal grand jury has returned a 48-count indictment charging a Salamanca man with scamming some 200 small businesses out of $1.2 million.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said 33-year-old Sergiy Bezrukov has been charged with conspiracy to defraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.

Authorities said Bezrukov operated a fake debt-restructuring business out of two local offices. Instead of helping, he scammed the businesses out of money. Arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday.

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