Dorchester, Mass. Man Pleads Guilty To Charges Of Running An Illegal Lottery

Final Defendant Sentenced in Illegal Pyramid Scheme

November 07, 2007 -- BOSTON – Today, a Dorchester man pled guilty to charges he participated in running an illegal lottery that resulted in hundreds of individuals in the Boston area losing thousands of dollars. Alcides Semedo, age 44, was sentenced by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Donovan to serve 18 months probation and complete 200 hours of community service. Semedo pled guilty just before the start of his trial today.

Three other co-defendants have also been sentenced in connection with operating the illegal pyramid scheme. Eric Johnson, age 47, and his wife Margarita Stewart Johnson, age 50, both of Dorchester, were found guilty by a jury on October 26, 2007. Both were sentenced on October 31, 2007, to serve two years of probation and 200 hours of community service. On October 23, 2007, another co-defendant, Natalina Pereira, aka Natalina Tavares, age 28, also of Dorchester, pled guilty in Suffolk Superior Court to the charge of setting up or promoting an illegal lottery. Judge Donovan sentenced Pereira to eighteen months of probation and 200 hours of community service. Another co-defendant in the case, Rosalina Barros, age 37, also of Dorchester, was found not guilty.

In August 2006, State Police and investigators with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office began investigating the operation of an illegal lottery in Dorchester after complaints were received from more than 300 victims who reported losing thousands of dollars. Further investigation revealed that five individuals were involved in soliciting people to participate in the illegal pyramid scheme.

The indictments allege that from January 1, 2006, through September 14, 2006, these five individuals organized, managed or recruited people to participate in a type of illegal lottery known as a pyramid scheme. In order to join the game, which used pyramid-shaped tables, individuals were allegedly required to pay different entry fees in the amounts of $100, $1,000 or $5,000. For this entry fee, each participant received a place on the bottom level of the pyramid and was promised that if they moved to the top of the pyramid, they would receive eight times their initial investment. In order to move up the pyramid, participants were required to recruit at least two new players, with each new player paying the entry fee in exchange for a place at the bottom of the pyramid.

The defendants allegedly focused their scam on residents in the Dorchester area, using word-of-mouth to spread news of the lottery and encourage friends and others to participate in the game. The lottery carried different names, including "Women's Circle of Trust," "Table of Honor," and "Women/Men of Valor." Sheets made to promote the illegal lottery often times contained an actual picture of a dinner table with food.

In total, the investigation identified approximately 300 individuals who lost money as a result of participating in this game.

Under state law, pyramid schemes and other games that require a participant to pay an entry fee in order to participate and have an opportunity to win a prize that is dependent on chance, are illegal lotteries.

All of the defendants involved were indicted by a Suffolk County Grand Jury December 14, 2006.

The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General David Waterfall and Kathleen Healey, both of Attorney General Coakley’s Cybercrime Division. The case was investigated by Investigators David Baker and Sallyann Nelligan, with assistance from State Police assigned to the Attorney General's Office, and the Boston Police.

Source: Massachusetts Attorney General

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