Jamaican man owes foreign woman thousands

Dear Mrs Macaulay,

A man in Jamaica has admitted in e-mails that he owes me money. It is US$10,000, and he has a house in Jamaica where he lives with his two daughters. He claims his money is in Wells Fargo bank in the United States, and keeps asking me for more money to get to the States to live with me until he can get his money. I stopped talking to him, and all I want is my money back. We met in 2021 on social media. What best can I do to recover my money, or sue him?

Before I answer your question about what you can do to recover your money, I must make certain comments and pose some questions about your actions.

I was amazed by the contents of your letter, that you met this man on social media in 2021 and that over a period of time from then to when you stopped sending him any more money, he was already indebted to you for US$10,000 which you loaned him. One question which comes to mind is, how did the subject of your lending him money come about? And, how did you start lending him sums of money which kept adding up, without any repayment from him? Would you have acted the same with someone you had known for years, like an old school friend, a neighbour, a colleague, your postman, a barista at the restaurant/bar where for years you have your weekly dinner outing and drinks on Fridays, or any other person you have known in person for years? This man you met on social media was a complete stranger! Yes, you could see and talk to this person you only saw on a screen, but you did not KNOW him and he would only tell you what he wanted to, in order to reel you into his web. Really, what were you thinking?

I conclude that the answer to my question is that you would most probably not have done so, at least you would not have waited for such a long time to be paid back and not go on lending till the total reached such a large sum. Did you really believe him, that his money was in Wells Fargo? In which state? Which city, town, etc? Did you ask him any of these questions? You say that he has a house here and lives there with his two daughters. Did you see his name on a certificate of title for the land? Did you verify any of the supposed facts he told you? This was a stranger you met on social media and everything he was telling you were merely assertions and not facts, if you did not verify any of his statements. It was on social media, for goodness sake! Did you not realise that he was merely taking you for a ride and that fact that he kept asking for money without paying back any of his loans, even for his ridiculous reason of travelling to the States to stay with you until he could get his money from the bank. What utter nonsense! You are lucky that you woke up to reality and cut him off.

So what can you do when clearly all your demands for repayment of your money were unsuccessful? It seems to me that you know the only answer, which is that you would have to sue him. This answer supposes that the name you have for him is his real name, and that you have his full and correct address. If these are false, then you have lost because you would not be able to find him to sue him.

But if you have his correct particulars, then you would have to retain the services of a lawyer here in Jamaica and instruct him or her to pursue the claim against him for you. You would have to meet the costs and fees for the lawyer to act. Please make sure that you get a clear and specific quote of the lawyer’s fees and total for expected costs of the action in writing. You may not be happy about spending more money in order to sue to get your money back, but if you succeed with your claim, then your lawyer would apply for your costs to be paid by the defendant. One would hope that the costs awarded and taxed would indeed cover your whole expenses which you paid to your lawyer. This is not always the case. But even if you do not get all your costs, if successful, you would at least get your money back.

In conclusion, you can only successfully sue this man you met on social media if you have his true name and real, full, and correct address. If the information you have about him is false, then you clearly would not be able to do anything to get that money or any part of it back. I do hope that you understand that you must not engage in such monetary transactions with strangers who you meet on any medium online. Please take care and good luck that you do have true information about this man who clearly stole from you.

Margarette May Macaulay is an attorney-at-law, Supreme Court mediator, notary public, and women’s and children’s rights advocate. Send questions via e-mail to allwoman@jamaicaobserver.com; or write to All Woman, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5. All responses are published. Mrs Macaulay cannot provide personal responses.