Kingston man imprisoned for dodging court-ordered debt and running crypto fraud

A local man received a three-and-a-half-year prison term after admitting he ignored a previous financial court order and cheated a UK investor out of thousands in a bogus digital-currency scheme.

Kingston man imprisoned for dodging court-ordered debt and running crypto fraud

A local resident has been sent to prison for three and a half years after confessing to ignoring a prior court-ordered financial obligation and swindling a British investor through a fake digital-currency opportunity.

Jason Kameka entered guilty pleas on 18 June to a series of charges that included deceiving someone to obtain funds, handling proceeds of unlawful activity, operating as an unregistered investment adviser, and refusing to satisfy a Pecuniary Penalty Order.

The matter began in September 2022 when the Constabulary Financial Unit opened an inquiry into reports that a person in the United Kingdom had lost roughly £51,000. Between mid-August and early October 2021, the complainant had wired the money in multiple batches, convinced it was going into a genuine investment vehicle.

Investigators confirmed the cash landed in accounts connected to Kameka, was then taken out, and redirected elsewhere. Checks with the Financial Services Commission revealed he had no authority to offer investment or securities services in Jamaica. Officers also uncovered earlier fraud convictions and an outstanding 2020 court order requiring him to hand over more than $18 million, which remained unpaid.

The sentences imposed will run at the same time: one year and five months for the deception charge, three years and six months for violating Section 93 of the Proceeds of Crime Act, eleven months for the unlicensed activity, and three years and six months for failing to meet the earlier court order.

Dennis Chung, the chief technical director at the Financial Investigations Division, said the outcome shows court orders are mandatory, not optional. He pointed out that even after a conviction for non-payment, the original debt survives and the division can still go after any assets the offender acquires later. Anyone who truly cannot pay, he added, should apply to the court for assistance instead of simply disregarding the requirement.

Source: Jamaica Observer

Source: Jamaica Observer