I want back my money! - Woman claims she was scammed by soldier

After a plethora of emails and phone calls to high- ranking members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), Dionna Stephens, a Jamaica-born woman living in Canada, who claims that a sergeant of the force robbed her more than $3 million that he was given to build her house, is upset that she is yet to get back her money to finish her home.

Stephens said that after presenting evidence to the JDF about the sergeant's wrongdoings, they came to an agreement for him to finish a section of the house and call it quits. But she claims that the sergeant has refused to live up to his end of the bargain.

"From 2014, we come to the agreement that he would finish the bottom section of the house, but he has not done anything. I have sent several emails to a major who was in charge of it, and they have stopped responding to my emails," Stephens said.

When contacted, head of the communications at the JDF, Major Basil Jarrett, promised to look into the matter.

TRUSTED HIM

"This wasn't an undertaking between her and the JDF. It was between her and JDF member in a private engagement, and so we would have to investigate her claims," Jarrett said. "If she has complained to us prior, there should be a file here that we would have to look into."

Stephens said that she and the sergeant became 'best friends' before she migrated to Canada, and that she trusted him.

"A cousin of mine introduced us, and we became best friends. He would treat me for my birthday, and I would treat him for his birthday," Stephens said.

Although they were close, Stephens said that they were not in a romantic relationship.

"My mom used to treat him like her own son," Stephens said.

Based on the trust that she had developed for the sergeant, Stephens said that she asked him to oversee the remaking of a house which her uncle had spoilt.

"My uncle spoil the house, and I ask him if he could get someone who could correct it," Stephens said.

"I said to him from the beginning that I lost a lot of my personal money when my uncle spoil the house, so I don't want any foolishness."

And with his assurance, Stephens went ahead and borrowed the required amount of money from a bank in Canada.

"I sent him J$200,000 for the work to begin, and then I came to Jamaica two weeks later and gave CA$10,000 (J$990,000)," Stephens said.

She said that she asked the sergeant for a receipt for the CA$10,000, but he refused.

Stephens claims that she has given the sergeant about J$4 million to work on the house.

She said that she last contacted the sergeant in January 2015, and he insisted that he didn't owe her anything.