FID to go after masterminds in lotto scams

Big seizures reported under Proceeds of Crime Act

BY ALICIA DUNKLEY Observer senior reporter dunkleya@jamaicaobserver.com

Thursday, January 12, 2012

HEAD of the Financial Investigations Division (FID) Calvin Small says investigators will be targeting the masterminds behind lottery fraud rings in a big way this year to prevent Jamaica's reputation from being further soiled by these individuals.

"We will be increasing our efforts at investigating offences of especially corruption and fraud as well as the lotto scam, we will be looking to do more work where those offences are concerned," Small told the Observer yesterday.

The new FID head was speaking with the Observer following a statement issued by the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) yesterday, highlighting significant gains made by the FID in its operations for 2011 when compared with 2010.

Small said the operation of lottery scams, though not a new issue, continues to cause law enforcement authorities no ends of distress and as such Small said investigations into their operations will be high on the FID's priority list.

"It is a high concern and has always been in terms of the people who are involved as well as the impact it is having on the persons who are being fleeced and this is mostly elderly people residing in the United States, so in terms of our reputation we definitely want to be seen as going after these scammers... to ensure that our [country's] reputation is not tarnished further by these individuals," Small told the Observer.

In October last year commander of the St James Police Division, Senior Superintendent Linette Williams Martin was reported by this publication as saying that gains from the lotto scam were expected to reach US$300 million by the end of last year and was already on the increase in that western parish from where most of the fraudsters operate.

At the same time, the Florida-based Sun Sentinel newspaper reported that complaints regarding Jamaica-based scams have more than doubled in the last four years, jumping from 1,867 in 2007 to 21,342 in 2010. The report said that law enforcement officials feared the reported complaints may represent only a fraction of the true number of victims, adding that in the last three years US and Jamaican authorities have launched 389 investigations, arrested 111 people in Jamaica and the United States and seized US$1.13 million in assets.

Meanwhile, the CCN reported yesterday that cash forfeited to Government coffers from seizures under the 2007 Proceeds of Crime Act amounted to US$125,974 and J$867,671 in 2010 and US$458,000, J$4,131,000 and £6,500 in 2011.

According to the CCN, 33 vehicles valued at approximately $85 million were restrained [seized following court orders] in 2010, while 38 vehicles valued at approximately $90 million were restrained in 2011. The CCN said the total number of vehicles restrained since the inception of the Proceeds of Crime Act stood at 76 with a total value of $185 million.

Also, 10 properties including houses and commercial buildings valued at approximately $150 million were restrained in 2010. In 2011 a total of 43 properties, including houses and lands valued at approximately $588 million, were restrained.

The CCN said a total of 65 properties valued at approximately $850 million have been restrained since the inception of the Act . It said other assets, including furniture and fittings valued at approximately $3.5 million and bank accounts and monetary instruments amounting to just over $30 million were also restrained. The CCN said there have also been 11 money-laundering charges with two conviction since the start of 2011.

Yesterday, Small said the successful seizures under the Act were achieved using several measures, including help received through collaboration with overseas partners in fighting transnational crimes under the Mutual Assistance (Criminal Matters) Act.

All the cash seizures or forfeitures go to the Consolidated Fund.

The FID, which was established in December 2002, is a department in the Ministry of Finance which is mandated to investigate money laundering and terrorism financing related cases. It is staffed by a team comprising lawyers, forensic accountants, financial analysts, financial profilers, officers of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and other support staff.

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FID to go after masterminds in lotto scams