Con man to serve jail time after fleecing millions

A man who posed as an employee of Jamaica Customs Agency and Kingston Wharves and conned several car buyers out of more than $15 million was yesterday remanded for sentencing in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on April 25.

The confessed trickster, Renford Soares, collected various sums of money from unsuspecting persons after passing himself off as a customs officer.

On Friday, he pleaded guilty to obtaining money by false pretence when he appeared in the court before Parish Judge Chester Crooks.

The court heard that he collected $1.1 million from the complainant to purchase two motor cars but never delivered the vehicles or returned the complainant’s money.

Following his plea, the judge ordered a social enquiry report but was informed by Soares’ attorney-at-law, Anthony Morgan, that his client had similar matters for which he had pleaded guilty and a social enquiry report has already been ordered.

Consequently, the judge only requested Soares’ criminal records.

Earlier in March, Soares pleaded guilty to larceny by trick.

In that case, the complainant paid over $2.7 million to Soares who had informed him that he could assist in the importation of a Toyota Hiace motor car.

In February, Soares also pleaded guilty to two counts of obtaining money by false pretence and 15 counts of fraudulent conversion as well as absconding bail.

In that case, the court heard that between 2017 and 2021, multiple complainants handed monies to Soares to purchase motor vehicles.

Soares, in February 2019, collected $915,000 from a complainant and $700,000 from another complainant in August of the same year.

Morgan in the meantime has informed the court that his client is in no position to make restitution to the complainants and is ready for his sentence.

But Senior Parish Judge Lori-Ann Cole-Montague, before whom Morgan had made those pronouncements, said she would be making an order for restitution.

“The alternative if you don’t pay that money, you will serve time, and I am going to order that the time runs consecutively,” Cole-Montague warned.

But Morgan maintained that it would be difficult for repayment to be made, given the sum, while insisting that his client was ready for his sentence.