Sponsors scammed

Efforts to defraud people in the north using a sponsored card earned a 21-year-old man a mere $9 and his first criminal conviction.

The dishonest actions of Shakeel Ricardo Antonio Alleyne, of Bedford Lane, Roebuck Street, St Michael will also cost him a $350 fine. The amount must be paid in one month or he will spend three months at Her Majesty’s Prison Dodds.

Police went to Queen’s Street, Speightstown on Saturday after receiving information that Alleyne was asking persons for donations on a sponsored card. On arrival he was taken into custody and during a search to which he consented, the card was found tucked in his waist. A further probe revealed that the card was a copy and Allyene had not been given permission to collect the funds. When asked to account for it he admitted to police that he collected the donations for his personal use but denied manufacturing the copy.

Alleyne explained to Chief Magistrate Christopher Birch today that he was travelling on a bus when he found the card and concealed it since he knew who it belonged to.

“I asked three people for a sponsor and get $9 . . .  . I concealed the sheet . . . and the police came soon after. I concealed the sheet because I was on probation. I get sentenced to community service,” Alleyne said. He denied being “a person in need”.

The Chief Magistrate chided him for preying on the charity of others.

“When someone genuinely comes to get a sponsor the person is going to think twice because they will think they are like you. When they hear about this – thieves and vagabonds – they will not be willing to open their wallets because of people like you.

“You were given a break but you can’t get a second break. All of that for nothing,” the Chief Magistrate told Alleyne before imposing the fine.