WHEELING, W.Va. — A Las Vegas woman was convicted on fraud charges Friday for a scheme targeting a Harrison County woman.
A federal jury found 66-year-old Shelly Anne Leipham guilty of three counts of wire fraud, five counts of mail fraud and three counts of money laundering.
According to U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld, Leipham called the woman, who is elderly, and said she won $1 million. Leipham told the victim to send nearly $25,000 by mail and wire. The scheme lasted for two years.
“Sweepstakes schemes like this continue to be a problem and the victims are often senior citizens,” Ihlenfeld said in a statement. “We will seek a long prison sentence for Ms. Leipham and anyone else like her who preys upon older West Virginians.”
Leipham is facing up to 20 years behind bars and a $250,000 fine for each wire fraud and mail fraud count. She is also facing up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $500,000 for each money laundering charge.
The federal government is also seeking a money judgment of $336,402.