Third Defendant Pleads Guilty to Conspiring in Global Prize Notice Fraud Scheme

An Arizona woman pleaded guilty today for engaging in a prize notice fraud scheme that defrauded thousands of elderly consumers across the United States and abroad. Kimberly Stamps, 48, of Gilbert, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

According to court documents, Stamps was the owner and operator of a mass-mailing prize notice scheme that mailed millions of fraudulent prize notices. The prize notices led her victims to believe they had been individually selected to receive a large cash prize and would receive the prize if they paid a $20 to $50 fee. In reality, no victim ever received a large cash prize from Stamps or her co-conspirators. Instead, victims received a "report" describing sweepstakes opportunities or a trinket of minimal value. After victims responded to one fraudulent prize notice mailing, Stamps and her co-conspirators inundated them with additional fraudulent mailings. Stamps and her co-conspirators used the scheme to steal more than $15 million from victims, many of whom were elderly or vulnerable.

The fraud scheme operated from 2012 to February 2018, when the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) executed multiple search warrants and the Justice Department obtained a court order shutting down the fraudulent mail operation.

As part of her plea, Stamps admitted that she bought consumer mailing lists, chose the fraudulent prize notices, set the mailing schedule, opened P.O. Boxes to collect victim responses, coordinated with printers and translators, ordered cheap trinkets to mail as fulfillment, tracked victim responses, and opened bank accounts to receive victims' payments.

Stamps also admitted that by operating the fraud scheme, she violated a U.S. Postal Service cease-and-desist agreement and consent order reached in 2012. That agreement and order had permanently barred Stamps from mailing fraudulent prize notices.

Stamps is the third and final defendant in the charged conspiracy to plead guilty. Her co-conspirators John Kyle Muller and Barbara Trickle pleaded guilty on April 12, 2024, and April 28, 2025, respectively.

The USPIS conducted the investigation. Trial Attorneys Carolyn Rice and Charles Dunn of the Civil Division's Consumer Protection Branch prosecuted the case, with substantial assistance from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada.

The department urges individuals to be on the lookout for fraudulent lottery, prize notification, sweepstakes, and psychic scams. If you receive a phone call, letter or email promising a large prize in exchange for a fee, do not respond. Fraudsters often will use official-sounding names or the names of real lotteries or sweepstakes or pretend to be a government agent purportedly helping to secure a prize.

If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has experienced financial fraud, experienced professionals are standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Justice Department hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, can provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with inappropriate agencies and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available.

More information about the department's efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative webpage at https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at https://www.reportfraud.ftc.gov/or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Justice Department provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at https://www.ovc.gov.