A suspected con artist was on Thursday arrested with documents and monies received from the victim of a visa scam.
“Persons posing as employees of the US Embassy in Georgetown are approaching unsuspecting individuals purporting to be able to obtain visas for them. The agreed on monies and travel document are later handed over by the victim who subsequently finds out that he/she has been conned,” police said in a statement yesterday, while announcing the arrest.
The force is calling on persons who also have been victims of this crime to visit the Criminal Investigations Department, at Eve Leary, to assist with investigations.
A police official close to the investigation told Stabroek News that visa scams have always been an area of concern but most times the investigations turn cold as victims are either too ashamed to come forward or are afraid of prosecution.
He said that the con artists use high tech mechanisms and some persons are swindled out of as much as USD$25,000 or GYD$5M for a United States or Canadian visa, with the former being most sought after.
“Look, this is not a today problem. Every time we tackle one area, the people get more smart and try something else… these bannas use high tech machines and have ID cards that if you ain’t know better, you would swear is the real thing and that they working there fuh true,” the police source said.
“They have some too that have international help, so not only here they doing it they getting help from people in other countries… the victims don’t want talk. It’s just when some backs get brace against the ropes they come forward but for every one that come must be 20 more get con,” he added.
A United States Embassy official told Stabroek News that while they were prohibited by regulation from sharing information on individual visa cases, they were aware of the case. “We are aware that there is an ongoing law enforcement investigation of a recent visa scam involving Guyanese nationals. We appreciate the cooperation of Guyanese law enforcement in this investigation,” the official stated.
The Embassy wants to remind the public that U.S. visa requirement and procedures are transparent and are spelled out in detail on the Embassy’s website: http://georgetown.usebbassy.gov.
The Embassy sites states that sometimes persons receive fraudulent or inaccurate information from unscrupulous persons pertaining to the US visa process and that no person is able to obtain a visa without an interview.
“NO! It is important to beware of callers who say they have a “contact” in the Consular Section at the United States Embassy and have the ability to get you a visa without an interview. All visa applicants must attend an interview in order to determine whether or not they are qualified for that visa under United States Immigration law and regulations,” a section on visa fraud indicators states.
