WHITBY, Ont. - A Pickering, Ont., couple is facing multiple fraud charges in an alleged sweepstakes lottery scam that police believe may have lured hundreds of victims across the United States.

Durham Region police say they uncovered a large-scale counterfeit cheque operation following a search of a Pickering home.

They say the scam involved sending letters to potential victims indicating they had won US$75,000 in a publisher's sweepstakes lottery.

A business cheque for US$2,850 would accompany the letter, and the victim would be instructed to cash the cheque and send $2,680 back to cover service fees before the full award could be released.

Victims were never paid the $75,000 they were told they won, and ended up on the hook for $2,850 when their bank discovered the business cheque was counterfeit.

Efe Omoregie, 44, and Ebuwa Omorogieva, 38, are facing a number of fraud-related charges.

Both were held for a bail hearing in Oshawa today.