MONTEGO BAY, St James

A Trinidadian woman who last year fleeced several persons out of $154,000 after promising them non-existent jobs in Barbados was on Monday sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months, when she appeared in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate’s Court.

Thirty-four-year-old Sheriese Egbo was sentenced by Resident Magistrate Carolin Tie on four of six counts of false pretences, while the complainants in the other two counts were encouraged to take out civil suits against her to reclaim their losses.

But her legal woes are not yet over, as she is to be sentenced by another judge, Senior RM Vivienne Harris on a charge of overstaying, to which she had earlier pleaded guilty.

In court on Monday, RM Harris had mentioned she intended to order Egbo deported.

In mitigation on Monday, attorney at law Tamika Spencer who represented Egbo asked the court to be lenient with the accused woman who she described as having a series of medical conditions, including a cancerous brain tumour.

The court heard that she had come to Jamaica after the death of her husband and an eight-year-old child and had met co-accused Kimanni Bailey who she said had introduced her the scam.

Egbo had taken monies from the persons last year, telling them she owned a hotel in Barbados and was here recruiting persons for work in various departments.

The court heard that the persons were given schedules to leave the island but when they turned up at the airport between December 2-5 last year, found out no tickets had been booked for them.

Reports were made to the police and she was arrested and charged.

Bailey, who was charged along with her, pled not guilty to six charges of false pretence.