$100m bank scam - Three nabbed in C-TOC, FID crackdown, say police

Three suspects, including a customer service representative, have been charged in separate schemes that allegedly defrauded an elderly victim and scammed nearly $100 million from a commercial bank, according to the police.

They were nabbed in a series of coordinated operations across multiple parishes, a statement said Saturday.

They were led by the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC), alongside the Financial Investigations Division (FID) and detectives from Manchester and Clarendon.

On June 17, C-TOC’s Constabulary Financial Unit moved in on 28-year-old Omar Daley, an AC technician of a Kingston address, as he allegedly attempted to withdraw funds at a commercial bank.

Investigators alleged that the funds were the proceeds of a phishing and social engineering scheme that gave unauthorised access to an elderly person’s bank account and siphoned over $2.2 million.

Daley was arrested and charged with multiple offences under the Cybercrimes Act, Proceeds of Crime Act, and at Common Law.

He is scheduled to appear in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on August 21.

A week later, on June 24 and 26, additional anti-fraud operations were executed in Manchester and Clarendon, targeting key members of a suspected online fraud ring behind a near-$100 million scam affecting a local commercial bank.

The institution was not named.

Arrested and charged under the Proceeds of Crime Act are 27-year-old Mezon Green, a customer service representative from Manchester and 26-year-old Lavonai Livermore, of a Clarendon address.

Both are scheduled to appear in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on July 14.

Acting Senior Superintendent of Police Victor Barrett, who heads C-TOC, highlighted the scale and danger of the crimes, noting that "banking fraud poses a serious threat to our society".

"The men and women of C-TOC and our strategic partners, such as the FID, are fully aware of the evolving methods employed by these fraudsters. The units established within the JCF to investigate and prosecute these offences will not relent," he said.

Barrett also raised alarm about the trend of young Jamaicans engaging in sophisticated criminal activities.

"I'm urging gifted youths to channel their talents toward nation-building rather than destructive pursuits because if you are caught, you will face the full extent of the law."

The police are urging anyone with information that could assist the investigations to contact C-TOC at 876-967-1389, the National Intelligence Bureau at 811, Crime Stop at 311, or the nearest police station.

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