A Jamaican man has been arrested and charged in Prentiss County with running a Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes scam, allegedly defrauding victims across numerous states of nearly $1 million.
Sheriff Randy Tolar said the case started in June 2024, when a local senior citizen reported losing thousands of dollars in the fraud. Unlike actual contests, the fraudulent operation duped victims into thinking they had won millions of dollars and a luxury car before demanding payment in the form of gift cards or cashier’s checks.
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Authorities identified Delroy Escoffery, 30, a Jamaican national living in Rochester, New York, as the subject of the investigation. Escoffery was identified in a national database and later seized by US Customs in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as he sought to flee the country. He was also wanted in New York and imprisoned in Monroe County before being extradited to Mississippi.
Escoffery was placed into the Prentiss County Jail on August 25, 2025, after a grand jury indicted him on three felony counts: mail/wire fraud and false pretenses. His bond has been set at $100,000, and he is currently awaiting arraignment.
Sheriff Tolar stated that the case is one of the few occasions in which a suspect in a Publishers Clearing House fraud has been successfully identified and apprehended. Investigators discovered nine more victims in nine other states, with two losing more than $250,000 each.
