"They don't go to school at all ... . The ones who are good with the computers are the ones making bigger money," Maximus told The Sunday Gleaner.
"Big people are in it too, but a bare young people ... about 85 per cent of them are young people," he added.
But why do the parents allow their children to stop going to school and get involved with the lottery scam? "The Bible say the love of money is the root of all evil," Maximus quipped.
Rosalee Hamilton, guidance counsellor at Green Pond High School, said some parents will not speak about it. She revealed that her colleagues have confronted parents based on observations but they deny their children's involvement. "Parents will not say either, even if they are aware," Hamilton said.
Maximus told The Sunday Gleaner that one of his female cousins made one phone call and came back with more than $200,000. "She is just 18 years old ... they squander money hard," he said.
not always easy
However, it is not always that easy. Sometimes, several calls have to be made to one person to persuade them to send the money. At other times, no cash is forthcoming.
Maximus said the lottery scam has funded the purchase of several expensive cars for the young people living in the little district several miles outside the Second City. Some of them are afraid to drive their cars into Montego Bay.
In May this year, the Washington-based FTC posted a consumer alert on its website warning that "fraudulent telemarketers based in Jamaica are calling people in the US, telling them that they've won a sweepstakes or foreign lottery".
"The fraudulent telemarketers typically identify themselves as lawyers, customs officials or lottery representatives, and tell people they've won vacations, cars or thousands - even millions - of dollars. 'Winners' need only pay fees for shipping, insurance, customs duties or taxes before they can claim their prizes," read a section of the FTC's consumer alert.
The Office of the Children's Registry, however, has reported that it has not received any reports of teenagers dropping out of school for a space in the illicit lottery scam. However, Trevesa DaSilva-Ashman, public education specialist at the Office of the Children's Registry, warned that failing to report that a minor is not going to school and is involved with the illegal lottery scam is an offence under the Child Care and Protection Act.
offence categories
DaSilva-Ashman explained that the categories under which such an offence might fall include employment of children, which warrants penalties such as $500,000 and/or six months' imprisonment with hard labour.
"Depending on the circumstances, neglect and children in need of care and protection might also be categories under which such a situation may fall," DaSilva-Ashman said.
She encouraged persons who might know about such instances to report it to the Children's Registry.
Name changed upon request.