BISMARCK – Melinda Bulgin, of Providence, Rhode Island, was found guilty on September 14, 2018, by a federal jury on all 15 counts of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud or Mail Fraud, Wire Fraud, Mail Fraud, and Conspiracy to Commit International Money Laundering, in connection with her participation in a transnational criminal advance fee telemarketing (“lottery”) fraud.
The FBI led the investigation of Bulgin and others that resulted in the extradition of 14 Jamaican nationals and successful prosecution of 31 defendants in North Dakota. The FBI, United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, and a host of state and local authorities throughout the United States have assisted in the investigation, along with the Jamaican Constabulary Force (JCF), Major Organized Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA), Jamaican Operations Linked to Telemarketing (JOLT) Task Force, and other U.S. and international authorities.