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$Multibillion lottery scam JOLTed

Published:Thursday | June 16, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Then Commissioner of Police Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin (left) and Scott Hottfield, of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the United States, speak to members of the media during a press conference to launch the Jamaica Operations Linked to Telemarketing (JOLT) Task Force held at the Hilton Kingston hotel in New Kingston in 2009. - FILE



  • US, Jamaica forced to launch joint effort to tackle fraudsters

High-ranking officials at the United States Embassy in Kingston believe Jamaican lottery scammers fleeced an estimated J$2.5 billion from their victims in 2008 alone.

So massive were the illegal swindling operations that the Americans had to fly special agents and dedicated analysts to Jamaica in a bid to combat the scammers.

The multibillion-dollar figure was contained in a sensitive diplomatic cable sent from the Kingston post on January 6, 2009 to senior operatives in Washington, DC.

"It is estimated that more than US$30 million was transferred to Jamaica by victims of the lottery scam," read a section of the cable.

The diplomatic missive also revealed that the Americans were forced to team up with the Jamaican authorities and launch what was dubbed Jamaica Operations Linked to Telemarketing (JOLT) Task Force to combat the scammers, many of them youths from western Jamaica.

Isiah Parnell, the US Embassy's chargé d'affaires, and a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attaché opened the first joint training session and operation of the JOLT Task Force in late May 2008.

"By May 28, the joint US-Jamaican teams had arrested 12 (persons), seized evidence, including victims' list and several vehicles, including one stolen from the US," the cable stated.

The cable also provided details of the first JOLT operation. It began in the wee hours of May 28, 2009 in Montego Bay, which has been labelled the nexus of the Jamaican lottery scam.

"During the raid, one suspect ate his cellphone SIM card as the JOLT team entered. The team was also able to seize pages and pages of victims' names," the cable revealed.

Film crew

The Americans also disclosed that a film crew from ABC's Nightline accompanied the JOLT team, and was able to film the operation as it progressed.

The evidence gathered by the members of the task force showed that the lottery scam operation was more sophisticated than most people expected.

"In addition to the computers, vehicles and other evidence seized, the JOLT team recovered fake DHS (Department of Homeland Security) letterhead used by the scammers to convince victims that their winnings are legit," read another section of the cable.

According to the Americans, it was the Jamaicans who approached them for help in stopping the lotto scam.

"In January 2008, relying on our strong binational relationship, the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) requested assistance from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office at the embassy to fight this new crime wave," the cable noted.

A memorandum of understanding was signed in April 2008 by the DHS, ICE and the Jamaica Constabulary Force to facilitate the birth of the JOLT Task Force.

According to the cable, the Jamaica Customs Department, the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the "Magistrate Court of Montego Bay" and the Financial Investigations Division of the Ministry of Finance were all part of the JOLT programme.

However, the Americans solely funded the task force.

"All activities, including the posting of ICE special agents and analysts dedicated to JOLT, are being funded directly by ICE."

This "new Jamaican project", as the Americans called it, was modelled after a "successful ICE programme which was operating in Canada since 1998 and had recovered more than US$14 million to US and Canadian victims of telemarketing fraud".