Fraud bombshell

THREE people, one of them a female medical doctor who was previously thought to be missing, have been charged with a raft of offences in what law enforcers say is a multimillion-dollar fraud investigation affecting a number of financial institutions across the island.

The Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) and the Financial Investigations Division (FID) say they have arrested and charged 30-year-old Chloe Douett, a medical doctor of Cherry Garden, St Andrew; 29-year-old Ivana Campbell, executive assistant of Cedar Grove, Portmore, St Catherine; and 44-year-old Dwayne Pitter, unemployed of Olympic Gardens, St Andrew.

A news release from MOCA said that it has charged Dr Douett with uttering forged documents, demanding property on forged documents, conspiracy to defraud, and failure to safely store a firearm. At the same time, the FID has charged Campbell and Pitter with breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act, the Larceny Act, the Forgery Act, the Law Reform (Fraudulent Transactions) (Special Provisions) Act, as well as conspiracy to defraud at common law.

While MOCA did not give a definitive figure of the alleged fraud,Jamaica Observersources with knowledge of the probe say it could amount to as much as $600 million.

Our sources also say that at the time Dr Douett was thought to be missing, it was not known to the person or persons who made a social media post that she was already in police custody.

In its release on Saturday, MOCA said: “The three suspects who were nabbed following a series of coordinated operations across several parishes between January 13 and 16, are alleged to have carried out an elaborate and highly sophisticated multimillion-dollar fraud scheme between January 2023 and April 2024, through the submission of fraudulently obtained genuine documents and fraudulent identification documents,” MOCA said.

“The three allegedly assumed the identities of multiple individuals with varying occupations to bypass security protocols and identity confirmation measures at a number of institutions in the financial sector,” the agency added.

Reports are that a motor vehicle was seized in the operations.

According to Major Basil Jarrett, director of communications at MOCA, the arrests represent a major breakthrough in a very unique fraud case that has been under investigation by MOCA and the FID for more than 18 months.

“This is one of the most elaborate, complex, and brazen fraud schemes we have seen to date. The suspects relied on unprecedented levels of identity manipulation to defeat institutional safeguards and defraud legitimate financial institutions of hundreds of millions of dollars. These arrests mark a significant breakthrough in the investigation and are the result of sustained intelligence work and careful financial analysis by MOCA, the FID, and our partners,” Major Jarrett said.

Asked if more arrests in the matter are pending, Jarrett said: “While I don’t want to pre-empt investigative outcomes by speculating as to where next the investigation will lead, or who else it involves, it is important to point out that financial crime networks and activities of this nature and magnitude are rarely limited to a single set of actors, and so, notwithstanding these arrests and charges, the investigation continues and remains dynamic and fluid. What I can certainly tell you is that MOCA will act decisively against those who evidence suggests, are involved.”

In the release, Jarrett pointed out that MOCA and the FID received assistance from the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC), as well as the Montego Bay and Ferry police.

Commending the efforts of his colleagues, Jarrett said the arrests underscore MOCA’s “commitment and capacity to pursue complex financial crimes, regardless of how elaborate they are, and sends a clear signal that MOCA, working in collaboration with its partners, has the capacity to pursue criminals who believe sophisticated fraud places them beyond the reach of the law”.

He encouraged anyone with information on this and other financial and organised crimes to report it to MOCA’s tip line at 888-MOCA-TIP.

The Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) said this motor vehicle was seized in a series of coordinated operations across several parishes between January 13 and 16, during which three people were arrested and charged in a multimillion-dollar fraud investigation affecting a number of financial institutions across the island. (Photo: MOCA)

An agent of the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) is seen at left accosting one of the three suspects held and charged in a multimillion-dollar fraud investigation by MOCA and the Financial Investigations Division. (Photo: MOCA)