Jamaican facing up to 30 years in US prison for debt-relief scam

A 37-year-old Jamaican, Sereika Savariau, on Tuesday pleaded guilty in a US District Court to creating a series of fraudulent debt relief companies that tricked American victims into paying fraudulent processing fees and disclosing sensitive personal identifying information.

The announcement was made by US Attorney Matthew M Graves and Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Sally Luttrell of the Treasury Department, Office of Inspector General.

Savariau, also known as Sereika Savariau-goodison, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, which carries a potential penalty of 30 years in prison.

Justice Amit P Mehta presided over Savariau’s guilty plea and scheduled sentencing for September 19.

As part of her guilty plea, Savariau admitted that from at least June 2016 through September 2018 she and other conspirators created and operated a series of fraudulent debt relief companies that tricked US citizens into paying bogus processing fees and disclosing personal identifying information and identity documents.

One of the fraudulent websites said consumers could receive up to US$60,000 in government-funded aid to pay their bills. Another website claimed consumers could receive up to US$25,000 in annual debt relief.

Savariau admitted that through their false representations she and her co-conspirators tried to defraud US victims out of more than US$550,000.

More than 50 individuals sent money to conspirators because of the scheme, most commonly through Western Union, believing the funds were service processing fees.

Conspirators also fraudulently used some of the victims’ personal identifying information for other illegal purposes. For example, one victim’s information was used to create a Paypal account for use in the scheme.

Her information was also used to apply for and obtain an American Express prepaid credit card. A different victim’s name and address were used to register one of their fraudulent debt relief sites.

Savariau’s conduct directly violated a prior judicial order issued in September 2015 that, among other things, permanently restrained her and those working with her from misrepresenting to others that they would reduce substantially consumers’ debts.

Savariau was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2021 and extradited from Jamaica to the United States in September 2023.

This case was investigated by the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Inspector General, the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Savariau.