SPANISH TOWN, St Catherine – Police say they have cracked a visa racket in Spanish Town, with the arrest of the “chief con artist”, who will spend the next 18 months in prison.

Craig Dacosta, 35, of Benbow District, St Catherine, was arrested and charged with two counts of false pretence and fraudulent conversion of $400,000. He had convinced a man to pay him $400,000 for United States visas for the man and his family of four. Four passports were also seized from him.

Dacosta pleaded guilty in the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate’s Court, and senior St Catherine resident magistrate Lorna Errar-Gayle sentenced him to 18 months on each count. The sentences are to run concurrently, which means that Dacosta will spend only 18 months in prison.

Detective Constable Adrian Robinson told the court that in July, a 23-year-old man gave Dacosta $116,000 as down payment along with four passports belonging to his family to provide US visas and secure jobs in the USA for them. In August he paid over another $200,000.

According to the police, Dacosta, who operates his scam from the LOJ Shopping Plaza in the old capital, promised to secure visas and jobs for them at a cost of $400,000.

However, in October when the man could not get the visa or a refund of his money, he reported the matter to the police.

Dacosta was arrested and charged and the four passports were found after a search of his house. In his defence, Dacosta told the court he had asked the man for a loan which he would invest in Cash Plus. He could not explain, though, why he had the passports in his possession.

“You must go to prison. This sort of scam racket and trickery of taking away poor people’s money by promising them all kinds of impossible things must stop. Are you the American ambassador that you are promising people to get visas for them? Go to prison for 18 months at hard labour on each count,” Errar- Gayle rebuked in passing the sentence.

She scolded his victim for being stupid and said that he should also be arrested and charged for giving away his passport, as it is the property of the government of Jamaica.

Police estimate that some 50 persons have been conned by Dacosta, as a number of people have been making reports against him since his arrest.

“From the reports we are getting and the investigations we are still carrying out, he has other charges against him and he will be arrested and charged whilst in prison,” said detective Robinson.