PAW PAW, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A 55-year-old New Jersey man is in the Van Buren County Jail, accused of bilking a 72-year-old woman of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Donald Johnson Jr. was arrested December 22 for his role.
Michigan State Police say the woman received a call saying she had won a $5.5-million sweepstakes from Publishers Clearing House and needed to pay the taxes up front to get the money.
She mailed over $200,000 to several addresses. Johnson received $90,000 of it.
He was arrested in Morris County, New Jersey and was arraigned in Van Buren County December 23 on felony false pretenses charges between $50,000 and $100,000.
Johnson is held on a $500,000 bond.
Troopers remind people that calls requesting money for prizes or taxes are most likely scams and legitimate sweepstakes require no payment to receive winnings.
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