Eight people accused of defrauding U.S. citizens through a multinational lottery scam were arrested during raids of several homes on a single street in Jamaica's capital, police announced Thursday.
A police statement said officers detained six males and two females during the Wednesday night operation in Havendale, a middle-class community at the foot of the mountains that tower above Kingston. They also seized nearly $150,000 in cash, jewelry, eight flat-screen television sets and five cars, including a BMW 5-series luxury sedan.
Amid an ongoing crackdown on the Jamaican swindlers, authorities say numerous lottery scammers have recently fled their Montego Bay base and relocated to other communities across the Caribbean island. Police urged residents to "desist from renting houses to them or assisting them in any way."
Police Commissioner Owen Ellington has said that other scam suspects arrested earlier this year have since been released on bail, frustrating investigators. Political leaders say they're worried that the lottery scams will seriously damage Jamaica's reputation.
Ellington has also warned that more school-age youngsters in Jamaica are becoming involved with the telemarketing scam rings, which target mostly the elderly, and Internet crimes. Jamaican police did not reveal the ages of the eight people arrested in Havendale.
At a Tuesday forum on national security in Montego Bay, where many of the lottery scams are based, Ellington urged parents to take responsibility of their children. He said some parents are even colluding with young suspects, which police officials say can be as little as 14 years old.
"We have parents who have bank accounts, cars, houses and so on bought for them by their children who are under 18 years old," Ellington said.
A month ago, Jamaica announced a new government task force to fight the lottery scams that have made the tourism-dependent Caribbean country a center for international telemarketing fraud.
The scams started taking off in Jamaica roughly five years ago, at about the same time the island became a regional leader in call centers dedicated to customer service. Since 2006, many of the legitimate call centers have been based in Montego Bay, and that's where many of the fraud rings have popped up.
For the past three years, the Jamaican and U.S. governments have already run a joint task force that has been trying to curb the schemes, but the problem has worsened.
Even the most conservative estimates put the yearly take from Jamaican scams at $300 million, up from about $30 million in 2009. A U.S. Federal Trade Commission official believes the scams could now be bilking Americans out of $1 billion a year.
Most incidents go unreported out of fear or embarrassment, according to the U.S. commission.
Jamaica hasn't extradited a single scam suspect to the United States, but island police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities say some extraditions are in the pipeline.
The schemes are so entrenched in Jamaica that some American police departments are warning vulnerable elderly residents to be wary of calls from Jamaica's 876 telephone code.
DO NOT pass go! DO NOT collect $200!
Darn, and I thought Montego Bay would be a nice restful, peaceful place to vacation. I've heard all about the Nigerian scammers. Guess this won't end
until every country on earth, is getting their fair share of scamming action.
Here a scam, there a scam...everywhere a scam...scam...scam. At least spam is better than a scam.
and this from the quality control expert who makes the stuff
Eight people ... did not pay their krysha.
It's an old handed down family recipe hearse. YUM, YUM! Thanks for the compliment.
goody,goody.
They (Jamaican officials) are afraid this will hurt their rep... Hmm...
This could potentially hurt marijuana exports! No reptuable drug dealer would want to do business with a country known for SCAMMING!
LOL
This article reads: "Police Commissioner Owen Ellington has said that other scam suspects arrested earlier this year have since been released on bail, frustrating investigators."
Why aren't they reporting securing assets that amount closer to a few hundred-millions total? I hope they track down the financial accounts (whatever country) that the big monies are being held in and are able to confiscate them [instead of big screen TVs & small change stuff] and publicize that they are returning them to a few of the people who REPORTED and PROVED being scammed. Lastly, will these eight, evil, criminals ALSO be released once they reveal names of additional scammers who have been their neighbors within the subdivision, etc. or whatever?
looks like jamaica has found a new revenue source
LOL......
I don't know why I thought of Pass the Dutchie by Mucical Youth....
"he said some parents are even colluding with young suspects, which police officials say can be as little as14 years old"
These scum are useing their kids to commit the crimes, thats why the parents have the bank accts. cars and houses.
cause they know if the kids get caught the law will go easier on them.
I picture the Jamaican Prime Minister saying: Don't Worry, Be Happy!
I read an article recently about Nigerian scammers that said some actively recruit younger people into their business since many of them are computer literate. In many cases, the parents don't even know what their kids are doing. The kids see easy money and sadly go for it. Glad to see Jamaica is cracking down but most likely, they'll just pop up somewhere else.
put them in the organ donor camps along with all involved. grind the leftovers into special recipe cat food. will that deter others from robbing the stupid?
Yes, I believe you got that right, and as long as the cash keeps flowing in, w/ no interference,
why would would they stop ?
new buisness model ?
yes, even if it has to relocate every now and then.
You deserve a GOLD STAR
for that INGENIOUS idea! Organs can be sold on the black, or even free market for millions, which could be used to
further the fight against these squirmy scamming parasites.
The "special" cat food recipe could be called, Purina "Scam Free" Gourmet Surprise. With your permission of course.
Oh Mon, I knew we should have become Bobsledders. hehehe, throw away the key.
Jeffrey - please don't open a food-ery around me... (YIKES!)
I knew you'd be for law and order.