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Safeguarding America through 

Financial Investigations 

Volume VII: No. 1 • Winter 2010 

Inside This Issue 

Interception and investigation . . . . 2 

Who are the victims of 

telemarketing fraud? . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Jamaican criminal organizations 

and their methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Project JOLT: Results 

and statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Case study: JOLT investigation 

leads to arrests in Colorado . . . . . . . 4 

Protecting against fraud . . . . . . . . . 4 

Consumers can report 

telemarketing complaints 

in several ways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

Cornerstone is U.S. Immigration 

and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE’s) 

comprehensive investigative 

initiative for fighting financial crime. 

The Cornerstone Report is a quarterly 

bulletin highlighting key issues 

related to ICE financial, narcotics 

and public safety investigations. 

Toll-Free Tip Line: 

1-866-DHS-2-ICE 

www.ice.gov/cornerstone 

ICE Targets Jamaica-Based 

Telemarketing Scams 

The Project JOLT Task Force is a partnership effort between ICE and the Jamaica Constabulary 

Force to combat telemarketing fraud originating from Jamaica. Task force members are pictured above following a JOLT operation. 

I

n recent years, U.S. complaints 

about telemarketing fraud originating from Jamaica have skyrocketed. 

According to Jamaican law enforcement, local gangs employ telemarketing fraud tactics to raise capital, 

which is then used to facilitate the 

smuggling of weapons into Jamaica 

and narcotics to the United States. 

In March 2009, ICE entered into an 

agreement with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to form the 

Project JOLT (Jamaican Operations 

Linked to Telemarketing) Task Force. 

Project JOLT focuses on identifying, 

disrupting and dismantling organizations perpetrating Jamaican-based 

telemarketing fraud. A secondary 

Project JOLT objective is to recover 

the money fraudulently obtained by 

the telemarketers and repatriate the 

funds to the victims. 

In the U.S., Project JOLT collaborates 

with private companies like Western 

Union, as well as with federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of 

Justice, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Postal Inspection 

Service and the Federal Bureau of 

Investigation (FBI), in a united front 

JCF officers working with Project JOLT approach a suspect residence to execute a 

search warrant in Montego Bay, Jamaica. 

against telemarketing fraud. 

Telemarketing Fraud 

Telemarketing fraud has resulted 

in the loss of tens of millions of 

dollars, in many cases representing the victim’s entire life savings. 

When contacting victims, fraudulent 

telemarketers (referred to as “scammers”) regularly identify themselves 

as lawyers, government officials, law 

enforcement agents or lottery company officials. 

In a typical fraud scenario, potential 

victims are led to believe they have 

won an international multimillion-
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Volume VII: No. 1

Winter 2010 

dollar sweepstakes. 

The scammers then 

tell the victims that 

in order to receive 

their winnings, the 

victim will have to pay an advance 

fee.This fee is usually described as a 

tax, insurance payment or customs 

duty that must be paid to release the 

winnings.The victims are instructed 

to send the funds via mail, courier 

or wire transfer. 

The winnings are invariably nonexistent and the scammers make off 

with the funds paid by the victims. 

Most of these scammers are articulate and will often involve a variety 

ICE Assistant Attaché Vance Callender and 

senior ICE representative Songura “Kini” Cole 

during a JOLT search warrant execution in 

Montego Bay, Jamaica. 

The Project JOLT launch was announced with 

a press conference in Kingston, Jamaica, on 

May 20, 2009. In attendance were (left to 

right) JCF Commissioner of Police Hardley 

Lewin, ICE Office of International Affairs Operations Chief Scott Hatfield and U.S. Embassy 

Deputy Chief of Mission Jim Heg. 

of partners to defraud the victim 

over the course of a period of time, 

a strategy that serves to increase the 

complexity of the matter and lends 

greater credibility to the scheme. 

Scammers have been known to 

repeatedly bombard their victims 

with non-stop calls, even employing verbal abuse to coerce victims 

to comply. Intimidated, confused 

and exhausted, victims yield to the 

telemarketer’s demands. 

Some victims have reported threats 

made by the perpetrators against 

their lives or the lives of their family if the victim refuses to continue 

sending money.Victims may be 

told that any cooperation with law 

enforcement will result in death 

or injury to them or their family 

members, which can lead to these 

schemes going unreported. 

Interception and investigation 

Project JOLT investigations are generally initiated upon discovery of 

suspicious parcels or wire transfers 

coming from the United States to 

Jamaica, which are intercepted by 

law enforcement. Upon identifying 

a criminal violation, JOLT members 

begin the investigative process by 

JCF Mobile Reserve Officers on the way to execute a JOLT search warrant in Montego Bay. 

identifying co-conspirators, making 

arrests and seizing evidence.Victims 

and witnesses are identified and interviewed for evidence in Jamaican 

court proceedings, and ultimately, 

for evidence to be used in U.S. 

criminal proceedings.The detailed 

statements of victims and witnesses 

are essential for the successful prosecution of the perpetrators of these 

crimes and legal seizure and return 

of money to the victims. 

Who are the victims of telemarketing fraud? 

Accurate victimization rates are difficult to quantify, because many victims who lose money to telemarketing fraud do not contact authorities, 

for reasons that may include shame, 

embarrassment and the perception 

that “no one can help.” 

Geographic profiles: Potential victims have been identified from communities across the United States, 

ranging from large urban metropolises to small rural towns. 

Age profiles: Perpetrators tend to 

victimize consumers of all ages, 

backgrounds and income level, but 

the elderly are disproportionately 

targeted. Perpetrators take advantage 

of the fact that many older people 

have cash reserves or other assets 

to spend on these deceptive offers. 

Older Americans may be especially 

susceptible to fraudulent offers for 

prize promotions, lottery clubs and 

charitable solicitations. 

A 2003 survey conducted by AARP 

found that 90 percent of respondents reported awareness of consumer fraud, yet two-thirds said it 

was hard to spot fraud when it is 

happening.The survey also shows 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Volume VII: No. 1 

Winter 2010 

that elderly victims 

find it difficult to 

terminate telephone conversations, even when 

they say they are 

not interested in continuing a conversation.They may be also reluctant 

to report for fear of losing financial 

independence should their families 

discover the fraud. 

Other effects: Victimization is not 

limited to financial loss.Telemarketing fraud is often emotionally 

devastating to individuals, and the 

stress and pain of victimization may 

manifest itself as depression, isolation, the deterioration of physical 

and mental health, and even suicidal 

thoughts and actions. 

Jamaican criminal organizations 

and their methods 

Fraudulent telemarketing has become a lucrative source of income 

for criminal organizations in Jamaica. A “lead list” (a list of potential victims with their addresses and 

phone numbers) can be purchased 

by brokers for $5 to $7 per page. 

These lists can be 10-15 pages long 

and list hundreds of potential victims. Each name on the list represents a potential ill-gotten profit of 

tens of thousands of dollars. 

Violence related to telemarketing 

scams has grown exponentially in 

Jamaica, with gangs and criminal 

organizations exchanging gunfire 

over the lead lists and access to 

them, according to Jamaican law 

enforcement. Some of this violence 

is spilling over into other countries, 

such as Costa Rica. 

An emerging method employed by 

scammers is to hire callers from the 

United States, either to fly to Jamaica 

to make the calls or to do so from 

within their communities in the 

United States.When a potential victim hears a caller with an American 

accent, they may be more likely to 

believe the call is legitimate and may 

more willingly send their money. 

An additional method the scammers have been using to thwart the 

efforts of JOLT investigators is to 

contact the victims and falsely identify themselves as law enforcement 

(usually posing as a representative of 

the FBI or the Department of Homeland Security) and tell the victim 

they have been scammed.They then 

instruct the victim to send them all 

of their wire receipts and records of 

monetary transactions, so that the 

“agency” can collect the evidence 

for investigation.They further instruct the victim not to speak to anyone else other than the “agent” with 

whom they are currently speaking. 

When this ruse is successful, the 

victim has unwittingly disposed of 

key evidence of the criminal activity, 

leaving nothing for legitimate law 

enforcement to use to track down 

and arrest the scammer.This tactic 

makes conducting JOLT investigations particularly challenging, as 

the victim either doesn’t believe the 

JOLT agent on the phone or becomes confused and flustered, and 

often discontinues any contact with 

legitimate law enforcement. 

Project JOLT: Results 

and statistics 

Since the inception of the operation 

Five Jamaican nationals under arrest following a Project JOLT enforcement operation. 

The “lead lists” pictured above were seized 

during a Project JOLT enforcement operation. 

These lists of potential U.S. scam victims 

often sell for $5 to $7 per page. 

In the above photo from a telemarketing 

fraud site targeted by Project JOLT, multiple 

phones are hooked up to an Internet router to 

facilitate inexpensive calls into the U.S. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Volume VII: No. 1 

Winter 2010 

(from March 2009 

through January 

31, 2010), Project 

JOLT investigations have resulted 

in 87 arrests, 10 indictments and 

five convictions. In addition, these 

investigations have resulted in the 

seizure of over $770,000 in assets 

($664,269 in cash and monetary 

instruments) and the repatriation of 

over $251,800 to victims. 

Case study: JOLT investigation 

leads to arrests in Colorado 

In April 2009, the Steamboat 

Springs Police Services Department 

(Colo.) initiated an investigation 

into a group of Jamaican nationals living in Steamboat Springs 

who were found to be fraudulently 

soliciting elderly individuals, leading them to believe that they had 

won a lottery based out of Jamaica. 

The victims were instructed to pay 

monies that would allegedly be used 

to secure their winnings.The lottery never existed and the majority 

of funds sent to the scammers were 

wire transferred back to Jamaica. 

Members of the Project JOLT task force arrest 

a suspect in an enforcement operation in 

Montego Bay, Jamaica. The case was connected to an ongoing ICE telemarketing fraud 

investigation in Colorado. 

As the investigation began to identify victims from all over the United 

States, the police department approached ICE, the U.S. Postal Service and the FBI to assist with their 

investigation. Four Jamaican nationals were identified as orchestrating 

this scheme and defrauding victims 

of an estimated $500,000. In a 

subsequent search of one suspect’s 

residence, investigators found lists 

of victims’ names and addresses, 

computers, money order receipts 

and cell phones. All of these items 

are commonly used in telemarketing 

fraud operations. 

ICE agents with the JOLT Task Force 

used information obtained from 

the search warrants to identify and 

arrest two additional suspects in 

Jamaica for their involvement in 

the fraud scheme. Both had traveled extensively between Jamaica 

and the United States and were in 

the process of building homes using 

funds believed to be acquired from 

U.S. victims. 

As a result of this investigation, six 

individuals were arrested.The four 

U.S. defendants entered into a plea 

arrangement in which they pled 

to mail fraud charges.They each 

received one year in federal prison 

and were ordered to pay restitution. 

The two suspects in Jamaica are 

awaiting prosecution. 

Protecting against fraud 

The Federal Trade Commission is 

the primary consumer protection 

agency in the U.S. and is the clearing-house for complaints ranging 

from advertising and sale of most 

products to regulating credit reporting agencies, debt collectors 

and non-bank lenders.The FTC’s 

Red Flag Indicators 

Know your customer – In the financial industry, 

front-line employees typically have a personal 

relationship with their customers and are perfectly 

positioned to identify any change in the customer’s 

financial activities and demeanor. Indicators to be 

aware of include the following: 

•Customer account activity shows unusual cash 

transactions. Emerging information reveals that 

fraud perpetrators are using victims and others 

to help facilitate their crime. These individuals 

are sent other victims funds and instructed to 

deposit them for immediate forwarding to the 

fraud perpetrator. 

•Customer talks of lottery winnings or an anticipated windfall. 

•Customer sends money orders or cash to areas 

within the U.S. or foreign with no personal or 

family connection. 

•Customer exhibits change in typical behavior. 

This can be manifested as excitement on learning of “winning” or depression and isolation on 

learning that they have been victimized. 

Ask questions if you feel something is unusual 

with your customer or if you identify any of the 

“red flags” in their behavior, and contact ICE if you 

believe your customer has been victimized in a 

scam. Law enforcement and the financial industry 

must continue their partnership to identify and 

break this cycle of victimization. 

consumer complaint database, the 

Consumer Sentinel Network (CSN), 

is the only national consumer fraud, 

identity theft, telemarketing and 

Do-Not-Call complaint repository 

in the U.S. 

Consumers can report 

telemarketing complaints in 

several ways 

• Call 1-866-DHS-2-ICE 

• Call the FTC at 1-877-ID-Theft 

or 1-877-FTC-Help 

• Mail a complaint to the FTC: 

Federal Trade Commission 

Consumer Response Center 

600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 

Washington, DC 20580 

• For more information go to 

www.ice.gov or www.ftc.gov.