Mega Millions Lottery Jackpot New York City Sophia--direct contact person who contacted my mother by phone, left her number to call her back (direct line) phone number is 518-217-1486 Scam, fraud, misrepresentation, predatory Amsterdam New York

On March 6, 2014, a Sophia called and left a message for my mom, (82 years old) to call her about her winning entry. She called her back at the direct number she had left and informed Mom that she had won $785,000.00 and that this Sophia had been trying to contact her because Mom hadn't returned the mailer responses she had received. Mom responded by stating that she thought it was a scam so she didnn't send them back. Sophia stated that this was no scam and that Mom had definitely won the money and a certified check would be delivered to her home the following day between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. by certified courier, an attorney by the name of Troy Johnson. Sophia gave Mom the claim number for the prize and the check number that would be delivered and made out to her, completely tax-prepaid, on Friday, March 7, 2014. She even had the audacity to ask if we wanted a publicized ceremony or to keep it private. Mom opted for the private ceremony and was given strict instructions by this Sophia creature that she was not to tell a soul until after the transaction had taken place, it was to be held in the strictest of confidence.

Following the call, I (her son) attempted to find out what I could about this Sophia person, Googled her phone number, Googled the attorney, and checked out the website for Mega Millions.  Sophia had not asked for any cash up front and everything seemed to be legit from what we knew and could research on our own. Mom became very elated and we both felt at first that this was a legitimate winning from a legitimate company. As any 82-year-old, retired widow on a fixed social security income would react, she began envisioning how she was going to spend her money once it arrives. She would pay off her mortgate and get clear out from under her credit-card debt of over $10,000.00.  She was literally shaking she was so in shock and disbelief over the news and as expected, couldn't sit still the rest of the day and didn't sleep a wink that night.

At 6:30 a.m. MST the next morning, 3/7/14, Mom got a call from this Sophia again with the news that there had been a change in the proceedings and Sophia had received a phone call from the U.S. Customs Office informing her that the check had been held up in Customs because of an IRS hold on it. Something about the notification date had expired and they had been trying to reach Mom for the past year, which is a blatant lie, she had no trouble reaching Mom on the one initial notification phone call on 3/6/14. She said that the funds had been sponsored by the United Negro College Fund charity and had been sitting in limbo for the year while attempts were made to notifiy Mom about the win.  None of this made any sense and was totally contrary to what Sophia had already told her. Sophia said that Mom could release the hold on the check and it could still be delivered on 3/7/14 at the pre-arranged time but there would be a fee of $1.950.00 that she would have to pay up front beforehand.  At this time the jig was up and the scam was delivered.  Sophia said that if Mom didn't pay the money, the funds would be returned to the UNCF charity that sponsored it, which is totally bogus because it came from Mega Millions and they are a lottery.  Mom was devastated but I think she believed deep down that it was a scam to begin with just because it sounded too good to be true and the garbage this Sophia was trying to pass off as legitimate didn't add up.  I have posted this information on Facebook and asked my friends and family to share the information on their own pages and with their own contacts and ask them to spread it around the U.S. This garbage of constantly targeting and preying upn the elderly has got to stop. I've also filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.