First sprint legend Usain Bolt gets scammed out of millions from Stocks & Securities Limited, which cast a bad light on the domestic financial sector. Now comes scamming at Jamaican BPOs, which has garnered international attention.

It is alleged that Jamaican national Tyrone Rose, an employee at Sutherland Global Services BPO and his accomplices were involved in defrauding 900 concert tickets that netted them a whopping US$600,000 a year.

US press reported that Shamara P. Simmons, 31, of Queens, New York, was an accomplice. Both Simmons and Rose have been charged with second-degree grand larceny, first-degree and fourth-degree computer tampering and fourth-degree conspiracy.

According to press reports, the Sutherland Global Services employees used their access to StubHub’s computers to get sold tickets and redirect the URLs to the email accounts of Simmons and her accomplices.

StubHub, a prominent American ticket exchange and resale company, has identified the ticket orders in this fraud and has made good with those who got scammed.

“Upon discovery of this criminal scheme, we immediately reported it to the third-party customer service vendor Sutherland Global Services as well as to the Queens District Attorney’s Office and Jamaican law enforcement.

“The individuals involved at Sutherland Global Services exploited a system vulnerability to fraudulently resell tickets. They were swiftly identified and terminated,” read an issued statement.

Many of the tickets in question were for pop singer Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

Mark Yergin, a former attorney of Dade County in Florida who played a role in the Donald Trump presidential campaign, talking to Our Today said: “We are aware that scamming is huge in Jamaica. Usain Bolt got invested money stolen from a prominent Jamaican investment house, and no one can give an account of what happened—with the Government distancing itself from Bolt’s plight.

“Many naive older Americans fall prey to Jamaican lottery scammers, and we understand it is big business there. The Government is unable to get on top of it. President Trump has said in no uncertain terms that criminals, thieves and scammers will be deported to their country. What this StubHub situation reveals is that Jamaican BPOs cannot be trusted with big international accounts and that they are not vigilant with their regulations and practices.”

Over the last decade, the BPO industry has become a significant player in the Jamaican economy, employing many young people.

Earlier this week, Our Today reported that Jamaica’s business process outsourcing sector has recorded phenomenal growth over recent decades and now operates from over three million square feet of space islandwide.

Vice president of BPO and logistics at the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ), Gloria Henry, speaking during the media launch for the Global Services Association of Jamaica, said: “We’re pleased to see that the private sector is the largest provider of facilities in BPO in Jamaica. So of the three million square feet of space, the public sector is only 33 per cent.

“We invested in and supported the transition of this industry into higher value services from a purely traditional business where we used to pick up boxes at Air Jamaica, process them in the free zone and hurry to catch the next flight out of Jamaica to where we manage businesses across the world from right here in Jamaica.”

Minister of Industry and Investment Aubyn Hill has said the BPO sector contributes J$136 billion to the Jamaican economy annually, which translates to around six per cent of its US$19.50 billion GDP. 

This crew, who worked the system via a Jamaican BPO, was also able to steal tickets for the US Open tennis tournament and Adele and Ed Sheeran concerts.

Queens district Attorney Melinda Katz told USA Today, “ According to the charges, these defendants tried to use the popularity of Taylor Swift’s concert tour and other high-profile events to profit at the expense of others. They allegedly exploited a loophole through an offshore ticket vender to steal tickets to the biggest concert tour of the last decade and then resold those seats for an extraordinary profit of more than US$600,000.”

The investigation remains ongoing to determine the extent of this operation, including the potential co-conspirators.

Pete Dillion of the Office of National Intelligence said, “Cybercrime has become a big problem all over the world. There are more incidents of it popping up in Jamaica where a lot of young people want the glamorous life, fast cars, designer clothes, the whole lot, but do not have the means to live this aspirational existence. Jamaican institutions and companies will have to put in place more stringent measures to battle cyber fraud. Doing very little is gross negligence, particularly in a crime-infested country.”

This scam involving Sutherland Global Services has been taking place since 2022.

Senator Hill said: “We have to make sure we are taking all the steps as much we possibly can to reduce these incidents of theft and fraud. I know the Ministry of National Security is very much aware of this. We have a new police commissioner who is tech-savvy. He understands the risks that are involved here. We as a country are doing our uttermost best with a  stronger police force to make sure we reduce these incidents and opportunities for people to carry on theft and fraud.”

Wayne Sinclair, president of the Global Services Association of Jamaica (GSAJ), said the country has to convince international companies that Jamaica is able to protect information and that BPO operations are up to scratch.

“It’s something that we have been fighting hard in terms of just the general perception, not just here locally, but internationally. This issue that we have of scamming is something that is known. It is not new. And so whenever anything like this pops up anywhere, anytime, it’s just not good for us.

“Fortunately though, we also have been feverishly and I’m talking about not just the industry as an organisation, but the individual companies have been taking steps over the years to ensure that we are very tight on our security. I know several companies have made significant investments in security, enhancing the security features surrounding their operations. So we’re in a much better place where that is concerned today than we were even, say, three, five years ago.”

StubHub has taken the decision to no longer work with Jamaican BPO company Sutherland Global Services.