Blind person, retiree and his family lose $630,000 to inheritance scam, feds say
Clarence Rice Jr. told friends, associates and their family members for years that he stood to inherit a sizable amount of money from his late father — if only his debts were paid off, prosecutors said.
Believing it to be a sound investment, they reportedly loaned him the money.
But the inheritance didn’t exist, prosecutors said, and as a result, a retired bricklayer, his wife, his children and a blind person — all of whom had “limited financial means” — lost $630,000. Rice pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion on Tuesday, Dec. 28, in the Eastern District of Virginia, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The 54-year-old faces up to 25 years in prison when he’s sentenced on May 25.
Rice, who is from Hampton, Virginia, could not be reached for comment. A public defender representing him did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Wednesday, Dec. 29.
According to documents filed alongside Rice’s plea agreement, the scam lasted from 2013 to 2019. During that time, he reportedly claimed to be on the brink of inheriting a large sum of money from an insurance settlement stemming from his father’s death in an industrial accident in 1999.
His first victim was a 75-year-old retired bricklayer identified in court filings as P.A., who prosecutors said was both Rice’s friend and associate.
P.A. and his wife loaned Rice $369,967 — all of which they believed he would pay back once the inheritance came through, the government said.
But at some point during the alleged fraud, Rice needed more money than P.A. could give. Believing he knew someone who could help, P.A. introduced Rice to his friend — who was 74 years old and blind — in June 2014, prosecutors said.
The friend, identified in court documents as T.M., ultimately gave Rice $143,550.
P.A. also convinced his surrogate son, daughter and son-in-law to send money to Rice by telling them it was “ostensibly a good opportunity with a guaranteed return,” prosecutors said in court filings.
Rice gave the son fake documents showing he would inherit millions of dollars and offered to meet with him and a lawyer, the government said. During that meeting, the pair reportedly executed promissory notes to document how much money was loaned. Prosecutors said the son ended up giving Rice $94,500.
The daughter and son-in-law, who live in South Carolina, also parted with $24,000 after Rice put them on a three-way call with someone claiming to work for an investment company that managed Rice’s nonexistent inheritance.
During the same time frame, prosecutors said, Rice failed to report any of the stolen income — let alone file his taxes. His last tax return was reportedly filed in 2011, and it was rejected on suspicion of fraud.
“The defendant maintained a cash lifestyle in which he conducted most (of) his professional and personal business in U.S. currency,” prosecutors said. “This made it difficult for investigators to trace his taxable income and fraudulent transactions.”
P.A.’s son ultimately reported Rice to the Norfolk Police Department in February 2017.
During his initial interviews with police investigators and later the Internal Revenue Service, the government said, Rice repeatedly lied about the money being a legitimate investment and filing his taxes.
“When agents pointed out that it had been almost a decade, he falsely claimed he had not earned enough income to file (despite earlier in the same interview saying he made up to $90,000.00 in some years from operating a tow truck, tuning and driving race cars, and helping with rental properties),” prosecutors said.
As part of his plea agreement, the government said Rice owes $52,064 in unpaid income taxes.
A grand jury indicted Rice in September, and he was arrested the following day, court documents show. He was released on a $2,000 bond before pleading guilty this week.
This story was originally published December 29, 2021 at 1:12 PM.
