A 22-year-old man identified as Isanae Dobson of a Hopewell, Hanover address was convicted in the Westmoreland Circuit Court for her involvement in a multimillion-dollar SIM swap fraud scheme targeting customers of local banks.
Investigation reveal that Dobson was part of a criminal network that fraudulently accessed victims’ bank accounts by taking over their SIM cards and activating online banking services.
Dobson’s account alone received J$367,500, which was withdrawn almost immediately, and another attempted transfer of J$255,000 was partially reversed by a local commercial bank.
These illicit activities facilitated the transfer of victims’ funds to accounts operated by “money mules” of which Dobson was one.
A money mule is someone who receives and/or moves money obtained from fraud victims.
Some money mules knowingly participate in criminal activity, while others are unaware that their actions assist fraudsters.
Dobson was convicted on one count of Conspiracy to Defraud and two counts of Facilitating a Transaction Involving Criminal Property.
She was ordered to pay fines of J$100,000 for each offense or face six months’ imprisonment.
Additionally, she must pay restitution totalling J$351,500 to a local commercial bank. The matter was successfully prosecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
Commenting on the case, the Financial Crimes Investigations Branch at the FID stated: “There are many young individuals like Isanae Dobson who are jeopardizing their futures by engaging in financial crimes and other criminal activities.
While qDobson avoided a prison sentence this time, we are sending a strong warning—those who choose to participate in such illegal activities may not be as fortunate.
We remain determined in our mission to bring offenders to justice and safeguard our financial system.”
The FID continues to urge the public to remain vigilant against fraud and report suspicious activities to the authorities.
