‘This bigger than her’

The night before the bulldozers rolled in with a battalion of police and soldiers, a helicopter hovering overhead, Suelyn Ward-Brown was on a roadside in the Clifton community in St Catherine, expressing concerns to news teams about the fate of residents whose homes may be up for demolition.

Hers too was in jeopardy, she told reporters that fateful night of October 5, having spent $700,000 for the land on which her two-bedroom unit stood. Much of the COVID-19 lockdown was spent constructing the structure, the school principal lamented.

Furthest from her mind was that days later she would be arrested and charged, implicated in the illegal sale of the lands located close to Clifton in the Greater Bernard Lodge area, as part of a land scam Prime Minister Andrew Holness said was linked to the infamous Clansman Gang.

For the mother, whose recent tumultuous divorce and settlement left her with little to her name, the opportunity at owning the piece of land was her saving grace against homelessness. Additionally, it was a chance for her to restart her life, heal mentally and emotionally from the divorce, and to forge respect in a new community.

“We are on the same side as the Food For The Poor houses, three houses are completed with persons living in them,” Ward-Brown told reporters, shocked that she may be among those bilked by organised criminals as reported by the prime minister.

“That is it now (organised crime),” she remarked.

“But you know that Food For The Poor would not have built a house on the land without the land being sanctioned,” she reasoned, even though she was among those without official ownership papers.

In her hand was a list of persons who she said had also purchased lots on a stretch dubbed Cassabanana Crescent in Clifton: persons for whom a letter addressed to the Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ) in December 2021 requested that the residents be granted certificates of land ownership for their allotments.

On the list were seven soldiers, six healthcare workers, another teacher, a farmer and a string of entrepreneurs and self-employed persons. All deposited hundreds of thousands for lots, and were allotted land by a gentleman called Clifton Brown, who purported to operate on behalf of the SCJ.

But days after giving that interview, the principal of Jamaica China Goodwill Infant in St Andrew was again in the media in connection to the land scam. On Wednesday, she was arrested and charged with breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act, the Law Reform Fraudulent Transactions Special Provisions Act and Conspiracy to Defraud. Ward-Brown was named as a key player in a $4 million land sales racket.

But some persons who were duped in the deal claim Ward-Brown is innocent and is being used a scapegoat.

MUCH LARGER SCHEME

On a visit to the area by the Sunday Gleaner team on Friday, it appeared persons whose homes were demolished were not initially from the Clifton area.

Residents from the area, however, expressed shock that the principal was arrested as part of the racket. She was regarded as a kindhearted, caring and friendly individual.

“I don’t think she saw a red cent out of that money. Trust me!” charged one entrepreneur whose home was among those that were demolished earlier this month. “It is just because she is a respected teacher that she tried to help a lot of people, try to get things organised, but she not involved in what them say. I think she is just salt.”

“She just come live in the area, about three years now, and this place run under certain order long time. Things can’t happen without certain people knowing,” said the man. “This is bigger than her. The real man behind this nobody can’t see him since this whole excitement.”

Another ‘landowner’ said he paid $600,000 to ‘Mr Brown’ for a piece of the land; and the sight of bulldozers plowing down the hundreds of blocks he erected ate into him as much as the wait-and-see is doing to him today.

“It is hard because I just put up my blocks to window height. I buy steel, about 600 blocks, and about 20 yards of sand and gravel. Now I have to go take up back the sand,” he said.

Since her arrest, five persons have already come forward with claims that they paid Ward-Brown over $4 million for lands, police officials disclosed.

However, on Friday law enforcement investigators close to the probe told The Sunday Gleaner that they believe Ward-Brown was being used as a “pawn” in a much larger scheme masterminded by someone who is still on the run.

One sleuth, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, expressed concerns for her and her family’s safety in the community.

Although the police said they were targeting other suspects, up to late yesterday, Ward-Brown was the only person arrested in connection with the racket. She remains in custody.

Clifton Brown, who is reportedly of no relation to Ward-Brown, remains elusive to investigators from both the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA), and the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC).

He was also instrumental in the procurement of Ward-Brown’s allotment of land, an investigator told The Sunday Gleaner.

WORRIED ABOUT SCHOOL DUTIES AND DAUGHTERS

At Ward-Brown’s first court hearing on Friday, her attorney, Deborah Martin, said she was befuddled as to why her client was in the court docks as opposed to serving as a witness in the matter.

Applying for bail for her client, she questioned the arguments by the prosecution and police, who asked for more time to conduct investigations and interviews into the matter. They also threatened additional charges.

Martin told The Sunday Gleaner that while the arrest has caused much reputational damage, Ward-Brown has been holding strong mentally, worried mostly about her school duties and daughters.

“I made an application for bail on the basis that I thought that the arrest was at the very least very premature. They are still in the investigatory phase and, in any event, the police arrested her at her home. They know where she lives. She is one of the persons who have bought a lot in Clifton,” Martin told The Sunday Gleaner.

“It was indicated in court that she was somebody who had given receipts to individuals who had money. I countered and asked the prosecution to look at the document they have and they will see that not one receipt was signed by her. Every receipt that was issued was signed by a gentleman by the name of Mr Brown.”

The defence attorney continued, “Based on my instructions, everyone present at Clifton would have indicated that they bought land from Mr Brown. They were of the view that it was land designated for divestment by the Sugar Company of Jamaica, and that she was the person who was able to do the identification of individuals.”

“I don’t know where the prosecution’s case is going. Somebody made a comment about land being sold by members of Clansman, and as yet I am not sure how they intend to prove those allegations,” Martin further noted.

She said the bail matter for Ward-Brown is set for October 31 to give police more time. She said the investigators wanted a longer period, which she challenged as her client was already behind bars.

Martin said Ward-Brown’s arrest must be based on tangible evidence, noting: “So far she is charged with one offence of obtaining by means of false pretence except she is not charged under the Larceny Act. She is charged pursuant to the Lottery Scam Act. So I’m really not clear as to what it is they said that she has done. I have not yet had full disclosure.”

Last week, head of CTOC, Assistant Commissioner of Police Anthony McLaughlin, said he was off the island and not immediately prepared to speak on the matter. Meanwhile, Major Basil Jarrett, director of communications at MOCA, explained that, to his knowledge, the list of persons of interest connected to the Clifton saga remains at three.

corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com