High court judge, Viviene Harris says lotto scamming seems to have become “an accepted feature in Jamaica for persons to scam people’s money” especially in Montego Bay.
She made the comments in the St Ann Circuit Court on Wednesday, November 2 during the sentencing of a St James man, who had pleaded guilty on charges of possession of identity information.
The man, 23-year-old Fernando Clarke from Montego Bay, St James, was fined $500,000 or two years imprisonment at hard labour.
Clarke had pleaded guilty to the charges in the St James Circuit Court in September and the matter, including three other cases, was transferred to the St Ann Circuit Court for sentencing.
Evidence was outlined at the sentencing hearing that on July 22, 2014, the police, who were armed with a search warrant, went to a house occupied by Clarke. The police found a laptop, an HP magic jack and several pieces of paper containing identity information, on a dresser.
UNDER MATTRESS
In addition 60 sheets of paper were found under a mattress that contained identity information of persons living overseas.
Clarke, who was 21 at the time of the offence, told the police under caution that: “Offica yuh nuh know say a scamming paper dem deh already.”
He was arrested and charged and when he appeared before the St James Circuit Court in September, he pleaded guilty.
In court last Wednesday, Clarke’s attorney explained that his client had no previous convictions and that the house was a place his client had rented.
“Mr Clarke has learned his lesson. He is aware of how devastating and dangerous the activities in which he engaged in were. He has vowed not to get involved in this matter again. He is considering to go back to school and restarting a business with the help of his family. My client has pleaded guilty and he is aware of the offence,” Clarke’s attorney pleaded. He further asked that his client be afforded the opportunity of rehabilitation by not being sent to prison.
In arriving at her sentence, Justice Harris said that she had taken into account Clarke’s age at the time of the offence, the fact that he had pleaded guilty and it was his first offence. She also pointed out that his antecedence was good, he was gainfully employed at the time of the offence and he had a strong support system from his family.
“No matter how you try to pretty it up, a scammer is just a tief… It seems it is an accepted feature in Jamaica for persons to scam people’s money especially from where he (Fernando Clarke) hails from. And he should know that there is normally a short life when you take up a life of scamming,” Justice Harris argued.
She told Clarke that she would not send him to prison, but the next time that he decided to commit such an offence, he was going to prison.
She ordered him to pay a fine of half a million dollars or spend two years in prison at hard labour.
Clarke’s attorney had asked for a reduction of the fine, but Justice Harris was adamant that she would not reduce the sum, but she was opened to more time for Clarke to pay the fine.
He is to pay the money by December 1 or face spending two years imprisonment.
