WESTERN BUREAU:

Horace Haughton, the man whom the police say is the mastermind behind an alleged job scam in Montego Bay, St. James, is now in police custody awaiting a series of identification parades.

Haughton was reportedly taken into custody last Friday after he was arrested inside the Inland Revenue Department's offices in Montego Bay, where he had gone to get a new driver's licence.

He was held by the investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Carl Brown, of the Area One Fraud Squad, who was also at the revenue department conducting business.

Bad cheques

"Subsequent checks revealed that he was trying to obtain a new driver's licence, as the one he had is now in the possession of the St. Elizabeth police. We are now looking into claims that he issued several bad cheques to lodgings in that parish," Sgt. Brown stated.

Haughton, an ex-convict of a Westgreen address in Montego Bay, allegedly collected money from unsuspecting job seekers, and left several suppliers of goods holding bounced cheques.

The police say Haughton swindled approximately $500,000 from businesses in Montego Bay where he tendered bounced cheques on bank accounts that had been closed.

Several pieces of office furniture and documents were also seized from Haughton's office on October 8.

On the day in question, scores of persons turned up at Haughton's office on North Street in Montego Bay for job training, but subsequently discovered that they were duped.

The job seekers said they responded to a local newspaper advertisement offering computer training and housekeeping job placements by Haughton's International Financial Services agency. Persons paid over between $750 and $2,000 to cover fees for employment.

The Area One Fraud Squad believes that the scam extends beyond St. James, based on telephone calls from potential complainants.

"To date, we have statements from six persons and I am appealing to affected persons who have paid over monies to Haughton or have supplied him with goods and services to visit the Area One Fraud office in Montego Bay or call us at 971-3346," Sgt. Brown said.