William Webster is the only man to have lef both the FBI and the CIA. Photo / Getty Images
William Webster is the only man to have lef both the FBI and the CIA. Photo / Getty Images
When a lottery scammer based in Jamaica targeted a 90-year-old American man, he thought he had hit the jackpot.
It just so happened that fraudster Keniel Thomas' would-be victim was none other than William Webster, the only man to lead both the FBI and the CIA.
When Mr Webster, whois now 94, and his wife Lynda, were targeted in 2014 they enlisted the help of FBI agents to bring the fraudster to justice.
Thomas was arrested in 2017 after travelling from his native Jamaica to New York and has now been sentenced to more than six years in prison.
The court heard how Thomas posed as a manager with Mega Millions, and told Mr Webster he had won several million and a Mercedez-Benz. All Mr Webster had to do, he said, was send $50,000 in fees and taxes before collecting the prize money.
Webster and his wife were targeted by a phone scammer in 2014. Photo / Getty Images
Thomas then resorted to threats when his scheme failed to pay off, telling the Websters he would set their couple's home on fire and threatening to shoot Lynda in the head if they did not pay him thousands of dollars.
According to court filings, Thomas was recorded telling the elderly couple: "Anytime you put back yourself in Washington, DC, you will be f***ing killed... You live at a very lonely place. And the moment you arrive, I'm gonna put a f***ing shot in your head. I am going to burn your f***ing house down."
The quick-thinking Websters called the FBI to listen into the call they received from Thomas. The bureau was able to link the Websters to other victims of the fraudster, who received at least $300,000 from about three dozen victims through his lottery scam. One victim estimated he had sent Thomas more than $600,000 from his savings.
William Webster also served as a federal judge in the 1970s. Photo / Getty Images
FBI agents traced those payments to Thomas or members of his family and arrested him when he came to the US to visit a friend. He will be deported to Jamaica when he has served his sentence.
The Websters' role in bringing Thomas to justice was only revealed during the fraudster's sentencing in court in Washington DC on Friday.
"We are lucky that we have a few friends that could be helpful to us," Mrs Webster told Judge Beryl Howell.
Mr Webster, who was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve as the FBI's third director, later leading the CIA, said he was speaking publicly about being targeted to draw attention to frauds targeting elderly people.
