Avinish Isaacs, 25, from Cassava Piece, St Andrew, and Nickiehsa Coote, 24, from Gregory Park, Portmore, St Catherine, have been charged in connection with a $47.5 million phishing scam that targeted National Commercial Bank (NCB) customers. The charges were announced by the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) following the arrests made this week.
The charges against Isaacs and Coote include violations of the Cyber Crime Act, acquisition of criminal property, engaging in transactions involving criminal property, facilitating the use of criminal property, and conspiracy to defraud. The pair was arrested during early morning operations carried out by MOCA agents and officers from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). Isaacs was arrested on Thursday, while Coote was taken into custody the day before.
This brings the total number of people charged in the case to 14. The scam, which took place between April and June 2022, involved members of an organised crime syndicate who targeted 16 NCB accounts in a phishing attack. The fraudsters transferred large sums of money into various beneficiaries’ accounts.
MOCA’s Director of Communications, Major Basil Jarrett, emphasized that the agency has placed high priority on addressing cyber and financial crimes, which have been rising in recent years. According to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica’s 2023 National Crime Victimisation Survey, there were 88,108 incidents of bank and consumer fraud reported in 2023, highlighting the growing concern over white-collar crimes in Jamaica.
As cybercrime continues to escalate, Major Jarrett urged the public to remain vigilant in their online activities and report any suspicious financial transactions to MOCA’s tip line at 888-MOCA-TIP.
