Two accused in ‘sophisticated’ multimillion dollar fraud to return to court

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Two of the three people charged in January in connection to a multimillion dollar fraud affecting multiple financial institutions were ordered to return to court when their matter was called up on Tuesday.

Answering to charges of forgery, conspiracy to defraud and possession of identity information in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court were Ivana Campbell and Dwayne Pitter.

Pitter has an additional charge of possession of criminal property.

According to a joint statement from the Financial Investigations Division (FID) and the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA), Campbell and Pitter were charged alongside medical doctor Chloe Duoett between January 13 and 16.

The accused are alleged to have carried out the scheme described as “elaborate and highly sophisticated” between January 2023 and April 2024, through the submission of fraudulently obtained genuine documents and fraudulent identification documents.

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.

Campbell and Pitter were charged initially by the FID with breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), the Larceny Act, the Forgery Act, and the Law Reform (Fraudulent Transactions) (Special Provisions) Act, as well as conspiracy to defraud at common law.

Adittional charges have now been laid against Pitter by MOCA.

Douett, who was charged with uttering forged documents, demanding property on forged documents, conspiracy to defraud and failure to safely store a firearm, was remanded in the St Catherine Parish Court on a previous occasion.

Pitter, who is in custody, was instructed by presiding judge Alwayne Smith to settle the matter of his lawyer who up to 12:00 pm had not appeared for his client.

The pair are to return to court on July 2.

— Dana Malcolm