Warwick woman accused of sweeping, $10M sweepstakes mail fraud. What we know.

PROVIDENCE – A Warwick woman is accused of swindling vulnerable people nationwide in a sweeping, multi-million dollar fraud scheme.

A grand jury indicted Meagan E. Shine, 47, on June 17 on four counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. She was arraigned Tuesday before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Lincoln D. Almond and released on a $50,000 unsecured bond with conditions, including that she seek mental health treatment, court records show.

“Preying on the hopes of elderly and vulnerable victims for profit, and using fraudulent mailings to persuade them to part with their hard-earned money takes a terrible toll − financially and mentally,” U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha’s office said in a statement.  “Working with our partners at the Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, the Postal Inspection Service, and federal, state, and local law enforcement, we are determined to ensure that those who seek to profit from fraud are held accountable.”

Michael J. Lepizzera, Shine's lawyer, said they planned to vigorously defend against the allegations.

"This legal dispute has been pending for more than 5.5 years," he said. "Mrs. Shine was hoping that this civil dispute would not have culminated in an indictment but it has. She voluntarily appeared in court yesterday with counsel and responded to the charges with a not guilty verdict. She will be working closely with her counsel to vigorously defend against the government's allegations and looks forward to a successful outcome."

More: She preyed on a RI widower through dating app Plenty of Fish. Now, she's going to prison.

The $10M sweepstakes mailing scheme

Federal authorities in 2018 secured an order barring Shine; her husband, Providence businessman Michael Shine; and an associate from using the U.S. Postal Service to target elderly people in what they alleged was elaborate sweepstakes-mailing scheme that scammed more than $10 million from vulnerable people.

Then U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith i ssued a temporary restraining order against the Shines, and Cranston woman Melissa Pinelli.

Prosecutors allege that since 2011, the Shines ran a predatory mail-fraud scheme that persuaded vulnerable people, including the elderly, across 41 states, including Rhode Island, to send in more than $10 million in supposed processing fees to collect promised cash prizes, luxury items and other winnings that they never received.

The complaint filed in U.S. District Court in 2018 indicated that the entities involved in the alleged scheme came onto the federal radar during the investigating of a Canadian payment processing service that authorities labeled a "transactional criminal organization." The government prohibited U.S. residents from engaging in transactions with the company.

The complaint described how unnamed alleged victims from throughout the nation, ages 68 to 85, sent sums of money in response to solicitations directing them to pay processing fees in order to collect winnings. Their payments ranged from a total of $119 to $2,825 from an 85-year-old woman in Arizona, according to the complaint.

In 2021, Michael Shine, owner of Tammany Hall Pub & Parlor at 409 Atwells Ave., agreed to permanently refrain from participating in mail-order sweepstakes solicitations to resolve accusations that he had been involved in the scam.

He reached a consent agreement with federal prosecutors barring him from participating in mass-mailing solicitations and promotional advertisements.

Shine did not admit fault in reaching the agreement, but agreed to inform federal authorities of any involvement with mass-mailing ventures over the following decade and alert them to any new post office boxes and mailing addresses for three years.

At the time, federal prosecutors said in a status report that the allegations against the other individuals remained ongoing, due to the “unexpectedly lengthy duration of a parallel criminal investigation.”

Fraud, conspiracy allegations

According to the 21-page indictment, Meagan Shine, who was also known as Meagan Roberts and Meagan Quinn, and others created fictitious businesses beginning as far back as 2008 and rented mailing lists with the names and addresses of people who had previously responded to solicitations.

She would then mail solicitations authorities allege contained false information that was designed to give the impression that the recipients had won prizes of more than $3 million. The notices would repeatedly reference the individuals’ names and include signatures to make them appear legitimate and personalized.

The people who were targeted, an estimated 50,000 each year, were instructed to send in $20 or $30 in order to collect their winnings; their payments were mailed to post-office boxes in Providence, prosecutors said. The notices would include “obscure” and difficult to understand disclaimers stating that in actuality, they would not receive a prize, but instead a sweepstakes report or low-value jewelry and other merchandise.

According to authorities, Shine received numerous complaints about people not receiving their prize after paying the fee. In response, Shine would refund the money “to deflect suspicion” from the government and consumer advocates.

Feds seek forfeiture of diamond rings, cash, Warwick Neck home

Federal authorities are seeking the forfeiture of an ill-gotten assets from the alleged scheme, including the Shines’ home on Warwick Neck and more than $435,000 from various bank accounts.

In addition, authorities seized six diamond rings and a cultured pearl David Yurman ring.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Denise M. Barton and Peter I. Roklan, as well trial attorneys Charles B. Dunn, Ann F. Entwistle, and Colin W. Trundle from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Warwick woman accused of sweeping, $10M sweepstakes mail fraud. What we know.