Million-dollar fraud out west
Published:Friday | June 25, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Nagra Plunkett, Assignment Coordinator
WESTERN BUREAU:
The Westmoreland police are probing a fraud matter in which Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett was impersonated and unsuspecting Jamaicans living overseas were fleeced of more than $1.5 million.
The alleged mastermind, who hails from George's Plain in Westmoreland (Bartlett's childhood district), is now in police custody.
"It came to my knowledge that a man purporting to be me contacted persons, primarily from George's Plain and who have done well for themselves, to solicit money," Bartlett told The Gleaner yesterday.
"I reported the matter to the police. They carried out their investigation and have arrested the alleged main perpetrator. I am suggesting that everyone who has been conned by him should make their report to the Sav-la-Mar Police Station."
The Gleaner has learnt that there are at least 15 complainants - one of whom is the suspect's aunt. It is also understood that as early as 2009, persons were contacted and asked to make monetary donations to be used for community development projects.
The suspect, said to be in his early 40s, has not been formally charged in the Bartlett matter, and is also expected to face identification parades for other fraud-related cases in the coming week.
Investigators say they are seeking additional suspects believed to be part of the fraud syndicate operating out of the George's Plain area.