HARRISBURG — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle), published as received.
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on December 9, 2021, Imhram Clarke, age 44, of Steelton, Pennsylvania was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment for mail fraud by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Clarke pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging him with mail fraud on March 26, 2021. Between July 2010 and December 2018, Clarke, working with other unnamed co-conspirators, played the role of a middleman or “money mule” in a Jamaica-based fraud scheme in which seven victims, four of whom were age 80 or older, lost around $194,723. Clarke retained a portion of the fraud proceeds sent to him and then transferred the remaining proceeds to other fraudsters in Jamaica via Western Union or MoneyGram money transfers.
One of Clarke's victims was a 93-year-old War II veteran from Ann Arbor, Michigan. From November 2018 until December 2018, the victim was defrauded of about $35,000 or more through a scheme in which victims sent fraudsters money as an “advance” payment in order to redeem a promised sweepstakes prize. This victim mailed money to Clarke’s residence in Steelton, Pennsylvania on multiple occasions, including one mailing of $5,000 in cash that was intercepted by members of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Clarke was also ordered to pay $41,838.50 in restitution and to serve a three-year term of supervised release following his prison sentence.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma prosecuted the case.
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