Lottery Scam Hits Acadiana

Sunday, May 14, 2006 posted 09:13 AM EDT

A Jeff Davis Parish man says he's been notified that he won an $85,000 lottery jackpot, but unfortunately for him, it's a scam.

It's one of several mail and internet scams circulating around Acadiana.

Mike Regan of Egan says he received a check in the mail at a home. It also included a letter with instructions for deposit. The instructions indicated he should put the check in his account and send part of the money back to the company. He was told the bulk of the $85,000 would then be sent to his bank. He was also told by the FBI he was part of an international scam and the check is bogus.

Regan says he tried calling the company back. He spoke to a representative by the name of Marcus Atta.

Reagan says the man keeps claiming it's a real check, telling him to try another bank.

Regan called Atta again, this time from TV 10 while we monitored the call.

Atta says he wants Regan to deposit the check. He says the money is not there yet. He says when you deposit the money, it's going to be there within two business days.

Regan says he's glad he caught the scheme before it cost him money.

The FBI website has several questions you should ask yourself if you're not sure about this type of situation.

Questions like: Is it a lottery from a country like Canada, Australia or El Gordo? Are you being asked to wire, send or ship money to another city or country? And, are you being asked to pay money to receive a deposit?

Agents say if you answer, "yes" to any of the questions, you could be involved in a fraud case.

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