Syndicate scam has victims angry

Many people take part in syndicates; they think it’s a good way to save money. But earlier this month one participant visited our studios to complain that somebody ran off with the bank. According to Michaele Johnson, in early 2007 she was living in Maskall when she and other members of the community joined the savings enterprise. But Johnson says when it was time to pay up, the organiser and the money were nowhere to be found.

Micheale Johnson, conned in syndicate scam
“I get eena with wah syndicate with wah lady from Maskall Village. Come round, well ih mi sound nice and everything. The seventeenth ah March, come seh dat how ih di have wah grocery syndicate and ih come every week – collect ten dollars from wi every week from the seventeenth ah March til the fifteenth ah December. Seh well, the fifteenth eena di morning ih wah bring wi grocery and everything. Well the fifteenth come, ih no bring no grocery. So di eighteenth—wi call ah, ih seh the eighteenth ih wah bring the grocery. The eighteenth come, ih no bring no grocery. Wi call ah Christmas Eve. When I call ah ih had wah attitude dah like, “I no have no money, weh yoh want I do?”. Dat da weh ih seh over the phone. And I just want the public fi know dat weh ih du wrong because ih could du it to somebody else.”

Johnson has since filed a civil suit against the syndicate organiser to recover her money