A 24-year-old man, who is accused of collecting a large sum of money from a woman as part of a “romance scam”, was, on Tuesday, released on $90,000 bail after denying involvement in the crime.

Jaffon Hinds of Lot 106 Downer Street, Grove, East Bank Demerara, was charged by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) and appeared before Magistrate Zamina Ally-Seepaul at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on three counts of conspiracy to commit a felony.

He was granted $30,000 bail on each count. The matter was adjourned until August 15.

According to a release from SOCU, it is alleged that Hinds, who is a Production Administrator at Caribbean Containers Incorporated, collected the sum of $502,340 from the victim, on three separate occasions.

He was alleged to have acted as a third party for another person who befriended the victim via a Facebook connection.

“The victim claimed she sent the money to the Jaffon Hinds using Western Union money transfer after she was instructed to do [it] by her Facebook boyfriend, who promised her a huge package with lots [of] expensive items,” the release said.

According to SOCU, the victim never received any package and her “Facebook friend” has since ceased contact with her. The matter was reported to SOCU and Hinds was arrested.

Back in April, SOCU Head, Assistant Commissioner Fazal Karimbaksh had warned of a sharp rise in cases where suspected Nigerian nationals, who are in the country illegally, as well as some outside of Guyana, were working with local accomplices to carry out scams and pyramid schemes on unsuspecting persons.

Karimbaksh indicated that “Package Delivery” and “Romance” scams became more prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic as scammers targeted primarily women via several social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, as well as online dating sites.

He explained that the modus operandi used by the scammers is to befriend unsuspecting women via the digital platforms using fake profiles of Caucasian men with luxury vehicles and large sums of cash.

“After communicating with the victim for some time to build trust with their `new friend’ or `love interest’, the scammer promises the intended victim some form of assistance,” he said, while noting that in most instances it is supposedly a package containing valuable gift items, such as designer clothing, jewellery, televisions, cell phones, other electronic devices and money.

The Head of SOCU explained that “The victim is usually contacted by a local associate of the scammer, confirming the arrival of the package and requesting their personal contact and other information. The intended victim is subsequently contacted again and requested to deposit money to a specified local bank account or send via a Money Transfer Agency or the Guyana Post Office Corporation.

“They inform the victim that the payment is required to cover brokerage fees, customs duties, penalties and/or shipping charges for the package(s), which are supposedly found on inspection to contain high valued items. Once the payment is made, the scammers discontinue all contact with the victim(s) who are being robbed of hundreds of thousands of dollars.”