American Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Selling Data of 7 Million Seniors to Scammers

A North Carolina man has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for selling the personal information of over 7 million elderly Americans to Jamaican scammers.

57-year-old Troy Murray, who operated under the alias Steve Dixon, pleaded guilty in January 2026 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On Thursday, he was sentenced to 121 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit $5.2 million.

Prosecutors said Murray’s alias was so well known among Jamaican scammers that it was even referenced in the lyrics of a Jamaican song released in 2022.

According to court documents, between 2016 and 2023, Murray sold lead lists containing the names, phone numbers, physical addresses, and email addresses of elderly Americans to fraudsters in Jamaica and elsewhere. The scammers used the information to carry out lottery fraud schemes targeting seniors.

Murray reportedly earned hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, typically charging $500 for a list containing 100 to 300 names. After telecommunications providers blocked him from using their services, he instructed his “customers” to pay him with prepaid gift cards instead.

Authorities say he distributed at least 22,000 lead lists during the course of the scheme, generating more than $5.2 million in profits while causing over $9.5 million in losses to victims.

Murray used the illicit proceeds to purchase farming equipment, vehicles, and precious metal collectibles. He also transferred part of the money to his son, Cutter Murray, to cover personal and business expenses.

In June 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Cutter Murray had agreed to plead guilty to one count of money laundering for receiving and laundering approximately $1.6 million in fraud proceeds.

Murray’s sentencing comes amid a sharp rise in scams targeting older Americans. According to the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report, people aged 60 and older filed more than 200,000 fraud complaints last year, a 37% increase compared to 2024.

Elderly victims reported nearly $7.8 billion in total losses, up 59% year over year, with the average loss per complainant reaching $38,500.