MOCA Arrests Three in What It Calls Jamaica’s Most Brazen Property Fraud

• MOCA arrests three suspects in a $600 million property title fraud scheme.
• Operation ran for 15 months, from January 2023 to April 2024.
• Suspects forged IDs, replaced titles at the NLA, and mortgaged stolen properties.
• Victims lost properties without any knowledge their titles had been compromised.
• A doctor and an executive assistant are among those charged.
• Banks disbursed mortgages against properties fraudulently transferred from real owners.

On January 25, 2026, Jamaica’s Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency confirmed the arrest of three individuals following what it described as one of the most technically sophisticated and damaging property fraud schemes the island has seen. The Jamaica Gleaner reported on January 25, 2026 that three suspects were detained during separate MOCA operations in Kingston and St James between January 13 and 16. The agency said the scheme, which ran from January 2023 to April 2024, involved the fraudulent transfer and mortgaging of an as-yet undetermined number of residential properties in upscale St Andrew without the knowledge or consent of the legitimate registered owners. MOCA described the operation as “one of the most elaborate, complex and brazen fraud we have seen to date.”

The Three Suspects

The individuals charged are Chloe Douett, 30, a medical doctor residing in Cherry Gardens, St Andrew; Ivana Campbell, 29, an executive assistant from Cedar Grove, Portmore, St Catherine; and Dwayne Pitter, 44, who is unemployed, from Olympic Gardens, St Andrew. The professional status of two of the suspects attracted significant attention. A practising doctor is not a typical suspect in a property crime investigation. The sophistication required — knowledge of how land administration works, ability to produce convincing false identification documents, and capacity to navigate mortgage approval processes across multiple institutions — suggests either significant prior knowledge of the system or access to professional advice.

The Method: Three Steps to Steal a Home

MOCA’s public account of the scheme identified a three-stage process. First, the suspects obtained access to original title documents for targeted properties. Second, armed with false or forged identification, one of the suspects would visit the National Land Agency and request a replacement title, claiming the original had been damaged. The NLA, following its administrative process, would issue a new title. Third, with a legitimate-looking replacement title in hand, the property would be transferred into the name of a fictitious buyer and then mortgaged to a financial institution. The mortgage disbursement — a real cash transfer based on a valuation of a real property — would be processed and the funds accessed. The victim — the real registered owner — would at this point have no knowledge that their property had been transferred and mortgaged.

The Financial Scale

The scheme is estimated to have defrauded five financial institutions of over $600 million. As reported by the Gleaner, the individual using the fictitious name “Odain Anthony Lawes” — later identified as Dwayne Pitter — obtained $352 million in mortgage loans from four banks within a single month in 2024. Separate mortgages of $96 million (Sagicor Bank), $80 million (National Commercial Bank), and $80 million (Victoria Mutual Building Society) were among those identified in court documents.

The Impact on Real Property Owners

What makes this scheme particularly alarming is that it requires no action on the part of the victim. The registered owner does not sign anything, does not attend any meeting, and does not know anything is wrong until — in the worst case — a financial institution issues a demand for payment on a mortgage they never agreed to, or a new “owner” appears at the door. Property owners in Jamaica — particularly those with valuable residential properties in sought-after areas — are advised to conduct periodic title searches at the NLA’s eLandJamaica portal to verify that no transfers or encumbrances have been placed on their title without their knowledge. Any unexplained transfer or mortgage should be reported immediately to MOCA and to legal counsel.

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