MOCA nabs fourth suspect in multimillion-dollar bank fraud probe

A fourth suspect has been taken into custody in connection with the multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud ring that allegedly siphoned funds from a number of Jamaican banks and financial institutions.

Investigators with the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) detained the 36-year-old man on Wednesday at the Kingston Central Police Station, where he had turned up to report under pre-charge bail conditions. He faces allegations of conspiracy to defraud and breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act, and is expected to be formally charged shortly.

He joins three others already pulled in by the agency: Chloe Douett, a 30-year-old medical doctor of Cherry Gardens, St Andrew; Ivana Campbell, a 29-year-old executive assistant of Cedar Grove, Portmore; and 44-year-old Dwayne Pitter, an unemployed man of Olympic Gardens, St Andrew.

MOCA alleges the four operated as part of an organised syndicate that ran a complex fraud scheme against multiple banks between January 2023 and April 2024. According to investigators, the group leaned on a mix of fraudulent identification papers and authentic documents obtained through deceit, which they used to slip past the institutions' identity checks and internal security controls.

The agency says it intends to keep working hand in hand with the Financial Investigations Division (FID) on the case. Major Basil Jarrett, MOCA's director of communications, said the partnership will continue "to ensure that everyone involved in this highly sophisticated and elaborate crime is placed before the courts".

Jarrett also encouraged members of the public who may have details on this matter or other financial and organised crime activity to call MOCA's confidential tip line at 888-MOCA-TIP.