Franklin County, NY, Man Going To Prison For His Role In Scheme That Defrauded Elderly Victims Out Of $2,000,000

CONTACT: Barbara Burns   
PHONE:       (716) 843-5817 
FAX #:          (716) 551-3051  

ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Anthony Laughing, Jr., 49, of Hogansburg, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, was sentenced to serve 72 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Marangola, who handled the case, stated that between September 2015 and March 2020, Laughing conspired with multiple co-defendants, including ringleader Martin Hogan, to defraud elderly victims using a fraudulent telemarketing scheme. Hogan placed telephone calls from Canada to victims in the United States, telling them that they had won the Canadian lottery. However, victims were told that they had to first pay the taxes, brokerage fee, and/or custom fees due in connection with the winnings. Some victims were instructed to mail cash to addresses controlled by Laughing, who accepted over 300 packages. The cash was then smuggled over the border into Canada and given to Laughing’s Canadian co-conspirators.  Laughing kept a portion of the money he accepted as part of the scheme.  In total, the scheme involved over $2,000,000 in funds obtained from elderly victims.

Martin Hogan was previously convicted and is awaiting sentencing.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, Border Enforcement Security Task Force, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Scarpino, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations Division, under the direction of Thomas Fattorusso, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Office, and the Customs and Border Patrol Air and Marine Unit, under the direction of Brian Manaher, Director, Marine Operations. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the extradition of defendant Martin Hogan from Jamaica.

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