Suspect accused of running fake raffle

Recent Cases

A call to police from a Troy sports bar led to the arrest of a Royal Oak man believed to be involved in an area-wide fraudulent sports raffle sales scheme.

A bar patron apparently realized the man selling raffle tickets purportedly for his 8-year-old son's hockey team might be the same person the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA) issued a warning about on its Web site earlier this month.

Officers took Robert Eugene Yontz, 34, into custody shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday at Field of Dreams sports bar, 1090 Rochester Road, Troy.

Yontz was arraigned Monday for larceny by false pretenses second or subsequent offense, a five-year felony. Yontz is held in lieu of a $25,000 cash bond pending a pre-exam conference March 10 in Troy's 52-4 District Court.

Yontz had 60 raffle ticket stubs with the names of 32 people, including two persons who purchased the $5 tickets at Field of Dreams that night, said Troy Police Lt. Gerry Scherlinck . Yontz had $83 on him when arrested, Scherlinck said.

The alleged fraudulent raffle tickets contained a Web site for MAHA which on Feb. 4 warned about a person selling fraudulent tickets claiming they benefit MAHA.

MAHA attorney Steven Stapleton said the scam has been ongoing since December.

Related listings

  • Peru court orders imprisoned ex-President Fujimori's 'immediate' release

    Peru court orders imprisoned ex-President Fujimori's 'immediate' release

    Recent Cases 12/06/2023

    Peru’s constitutional court ordered an immediate humanitarian release Tuesday for imprisoned former President Alberto Fujimori, 85, who was serving a 25-year sentence in connection with the death squad slayings of 25 Peruvians in the 1990s.The ...

  • UK lawyer fined for defying Heathrow court ruling embargo

    UK lawyer fined for defying Heathrow court ruling embargo

    Recent Cases 05/11/2021

    A British lawyer and climate campaigner was fined 5,000 pounds ($7,070) on Monday after being convicted of contempt of court for a tweet which broke an embargo on a U.K. Supreme Court judgment over Heathrow Airport’s expansion.Tim Crosland, a d...

  • Supreme Court blocks House from Mueller grand jury material

    Supreme Court blocks House from Mueller grand jury material

    Recent Cases 05/19/2020

    The Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily prevented the House of Representatives from obtaining secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. The court’s unsigned order granted the Trump administ...

USCIS Adjusting Premium Processing Fee

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today it is adjusting the premium processing fee for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers beginning on Oct. 1, 2018 to more effectively adjudicate petitions and maintain effective service to petitioners.

The premium processing fee will increase to $1,410, a 14.92 percent increase (after rounding) from the current fee of $1,225. This increase, which is done in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, represents the percentage change in inflation since the fee was last increased in 2010 based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers.

“Because premium processing fees have not been adjusted since 2010, our ability to improve the adjudications and service processes for all petitioners has been hindered as we’ve experienced significantly higher demand for immigration benefits. Ultimately, adjusting the premium processing fee will allow us to continue making necessary investments in staff and technology to administer various immigration benefit requests more effectively and efficiently,” said Chief Financial Officer Joseph Moore. “USCIS will continue adjudicating all petitions on a case-by-case basis to determine if they meet all standards required under applicable law, policies, and regulations.”

Premium processing is an optional service that is currently authorized for certain petitioners filing Forms I-129 or I-140. The system allows petitioners to request 15-day processing of certain employment-based immigration benefit requests if they pay an extra fee. The premium processing fee is paid in addition to the base filing fee and any other applicable fees, which cannot be waived.

Business News