Member of Parliament Robert Miller says unscrupulous people have been making a quick buck off desperate job seekers in his constituency who wish to be recruited under the Government’s overseas farm work programme, defrauding them of thousands of dollars.

These crooks, Miller told the Jamaica Observer, have been presenting themselves as officials of the programme and have been charging up to $70,000 to get people on the programme.

Miller, who is the MP for St Catherine South Eastern, said individuals have been using his name and his office to charge people these exorbitant fees with the promise of “getting through”.

The MP said he is aware that since July last year at least eight people in his constituency have been fleeced by “persons going around using the name of the office of the MP charging people…to get them on the farm work programme, and saying that they are going to give the money to me”.

Concerned that the scheme persisted after it was reported to the police by at least two people who were defrauded as well as himself, Miller brought the issue to the attention of the public when he raised it during a sensitisation session for MPs about the work programme earlier this month.

The MP told the
Observer that he raised the issue to not only clear his name, but to bring awareness to his constituents and the general public about the scheme, as well as ensuring that those culpable are brought to book.

“I have no agent out there and they [constituents] should register with my office if interested in the programme,” he said, warning that the farm work programme is not for sale.

At the same time, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has caught wind of a current plot to defraud people by issuing forms (farm work cards), purporting to be doing so behalf of the ministry.

In a release issued on Tuesday, the ministry warned especially young people that it does not issue farm work cards or forms and that it does not charge a fee or ask persons to pay monies for placement in jobs overseas.

“No private individual or organisation is authorised to recruit persons for participation in the farm work programme. Under the Employment Agencies Act, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is the only entity authorised to place persons in agricultural employment overseas,” the release said.

The ministry further advised that people who feel that they have been fleeced or scammed to report the matter to the nearest police station.

In the meantime, in response to MP Miller’s concern, Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles Jr, during the session, acknowledged that it is “a very serious issue. You are not the only person who I gather has been the victim of this type of criminal offence or fraud.

“I can assure you that any instance of fraud or allegations relevant or related to this kind of activity has been on our part reported to police. We engage and work with the police and we also inform persons who come to us that they are to swiftly and in a timely manner provide the police with the evidence to be able to carry out their investigations,” Charles said.

He said that the former minister, Karl Samuda, “in his wisdom”, had altered the process of recruitment by removing the physical farm work cards that were previously issued.

“I believe [that was done] because that was providing an opportunity for fraud where persons were taking the physical card, copying it and selling it. So when they duplicated it and sold it, they told persons that it was on behalf of the ministry or on behalf of the minister or on behalf of the MP,” he said.

He noted, however, that while the labour ministry has altered the system to remove that opportunity for the criminals, “we need to communicate that to Jamaica more”.

“We need to utilise your [MP] offices to communicate that more so that persons who are potential victims are still not purchasing these physical tickets thinking that it is going to give them an opportunity to go on the farm work programme,” he said.

In 2022, Samuda had announced in Parliament that instead of issuing farm work cards, his ministry would ask each parliamentarian via e-mail to recommend 50 people for recruitment.