The Financial Investigations Division (FID) confirms that three individuals were convicted in the Corporate Area Parish Court for their roles in a sophisticated fraud and money-laundering operation valued at approximately J$61 million. The convictions arise from a 2021 report by a local financial institution and a subsequent joint probe led by the FID alongside members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), specifically the Constabulary Financial Unit (CFU) within the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigations Branch (C-TOC) and the Major Organised Crime and Anticorruption Agency (MOCA).
The three individuals who have already been convicted are young to early middle-aged adults, all in their twenties and thirties. They include 25-year-old Britney Stewart and 29-year-old Ricardo Patch, both are employed as customer service representatives, and Dondrea Bartley a 32-year-old self-employed man.
Their roles ranged from providing access to computer systems to engaging in transactions with criminal property. Their involvement demonstrates how persons with legitimate employment or business activity can be drawn into cybercrime and money-laundering schemes. Their sentencing is scheduled for Thursday, 6 November 2025.
Offences included engaging in transactions involving criminal property, unauthorised access to computer data/devices, and unlawfully making available devices/data for the commission of an offence.
Investigators uncovered a SIM-swap scheme in which victims first lost control of their mobile numbers. The perpetrators used social-engineering to create or take over online banking profiles, diverting funds into accounts controlled by “money mules” who quickly withdrew the cash to frustrate recovery efforts. Nine persons are facing justice – three convicted while six accused remain before the courts.
The six before the courts represent a wider cross-section of Jamaican society. Among them are professionals and junior staff, including Dossain Moulton, a 34-year-old accountant in South St. Andrew and Akeem Plummer, a 31-year-old entrepreneur of a Portmore address. Martina Shim, a 24-year-old account associate also from Portmore, Denoy Hewitt, a 30-year-old agent associate from Portmore, Rushnie Henry a 23-year-old legal filing clerk from Linstead, and Natoya Leonia-Ombretta Billet, a 35-year-old counter clerk from East Kingston.
This range—from early twenties to mid-thirties—illustrates that both younger adults at the start of their careers and more established professionals can be implicated. It also underscores the fact that money-mule schemes cut across gender, age, and professional backgrounds, making vigilance critical.
Principal Director of Financial Crimes Investigations at the FID, Keith Darien, said: “This outcome reflects the strength of Jamaica’s integrated law-enforcement approach. The FID works shoulder-to-shoulder with our partners in the Jamaica Constabulary Force, including specialist units such as C-TOC, sharing intelligence, building joint cases, and moving decisively from detection to arrest to prosecution.
Over the past year, combined strategies in operations, training and policy have measurably improved our detection, interception and apprehension of offenders, enabled the dismantling of criminal networks, and resulted in more charges laid and more victories in the courts.
Amid our ongoing Money Mule public-education campaign, these convictions are among the clearest illustrations of the message we are sending to the public: do not let anyone use your bank account or identity for criminal activity. If you do, you will face serious consequences.”
The public is urged to look out for red flags commonly used to recruit money mules including:
- “Jobs” where the sole duty is transferring money or goods;
- High-paying offers requiring little or no qualifications;
- Contact made only via Instagram or WhatsApp;
- Claims that a company is overseas and needs local agents
- Requests for banking details or to hand over debit cards.
If you suspect money-mule activity or believe your identity/banking information has been compromised report it immediately to your bank and to the FID via contact@fid.gov.jm or 876-928-5141.