20-y-o charged in mega overseas job scam

Almost 30 individuals have lodged complaints against a 20-year-old man, who reportedly pretended to be an overseas job recruiting officer, who requested a minimum of $150,000 to process visa applications and work permits.

The defendant, Jamaal Black, is charged on an indictment for 25 counts of obtaining money by means of false pretence and four counts of operating an overseas employment agency without licence. It was shared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Thursday that Black purported to have an overseas travel agency and that he could provide employment opportunities for interested Jamaicans. Applicants had to visit an office that Black operated from in the Corporate Area to make payments by cash or via bank transfers.

Black, who is in custody, may spend another week in detention, as prosecutors contend "a bail application could not be addressed at this juncture", as there has to be a series of case management exercises to properly assess the charges.

Parish Judge Leighton Morris obliged to the Crown's request to assess the file and instructed the prosecutors to make contact with the investigators involved in the matters against Black.

Although a plea has not been formally entered in court for Black, attorney-at-law Atiba Dyer told the court that his client was "willing to make compensation" to the complainants, who stood disgruntled in the courtroom. The final sum that Black defrauded was not shared in open court, however, it is expected to be determined at the next court date.

Black was remanded in custody until July 6 when the matter is set for mention.