The Bay County Police in Florida has arrested a Jamaican man for allegedly scamming a 92-year-old woman out of US$54,000 (approximately J$8.5 million).
According to a Facebook post from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), Jamaica-born Richard Morgan, a 35-year-old illegal immigrant, was charged with grand theft and exploitation of the elderly last Friday.
The Sheriff’s office said on February 3 that the BCSO Financial Crimes Unit received a report about suspicious activity by Richard Morgan. Morgan had opened an account and tried to deposit a $24,000 check written by someone else to his new account. When bank employees tried to get further details about the check, Morgan gave vague excuses to the teller and fled when law enforcement arrived.
“Investigators contacted the owner of the check and learned she was a 92-year-old woman, and she had no memory of writing the check. Speaking with the victim’s family, investigators learned that an unknown man contacted her and directed her to pay a large amount of cash to increase her chance of winning one million dollars from the Publisher’s Clearing House,” BCSO stated.
Further investigations revealed that Morgan was hiding at an address in Callaway to avoid apprehension.
On February 9, the Jamaican was located, taken into custody without incident, booked into the Bay County Jail, and charged.
The investigation revealed that Morgan previously obtained $30,000 from the victim and sent funds to another individual in Jamaica. Investigators say Morgan has been using the proceeds of this criminal enterprise to fund his stay in the United States.
This is the second time for the month that a Jamaican has been arrested for scamming in the state. On February 4, Shelian Allen, a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), was arrested in Fort Lauderdale for allegedly leading a lottery scamming organization that fleeced millions from unsuspecting victims. Police charged her with alleged wire fraud, mail fraud, and drug trafficking.
In Jamaica, the Anti-Lottery Scam Task Force of the JCF has intensified its raids to clamp down lottery scamming operations.
