THE UNITED States Embassy is warning Jamaicans to still be on the lookout for an American-accented con man posing as an embassy official, who claims to sell fake visas and seeks to obtain money by false pretences.
The 6-foot tall, well-dressed man going by the names of "Michael Wells" or "Michael Hall". is reported to have attempted to con someone as late as last Thursday, January 22, when he went to the Kingsway High School in Kingston, claiming to be a "Sergeant" with U.S. Immigration.
At that time, he claimed to be seeking help, stating someone had stolen his vehicle containing visas and US$40,000. As usual, he was talking loudly on his cell phone to someone he claimed was the U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica.
Wells/Hall has been presenting himself at various business places and to several persons in the Corporate Area, offering illegal U.S. visas or seeking to borrow money on the claim that his vehicle was being towed while he was attempting to conduct business on behalf of the ambassador.
A number of persons continue to be taken in by the man's claims, despite previous warnings by the U.S. Embassy as to his activities. The Jamaican police have been trying to locate the man, who has claimed at various times to be an American citizen working at the U.S. Embassy, a U.S. Immigration Officer, an American police sergeant and an Embassy employee. He has offered U.S. work visas and visas for travel on business or pleasure, for a price.
In other instances, he claims to be purchasing large orders of supplies for the U.S. Embassy. His presence at several business places has also been linked to petty thefts of money or small items that have vanished in his wake.
Witnesses describe Wells/Hall as a dark-skinned black male about six feet tall, between 39-48 years old with graying hair and bucked or spaced teeth. He often wears khaki-coloured pants and black shoes or boots and usually has a cellular phone earpiece tucked into his ear, while speaking loudly to "pretend" U.S. Embassy officials through the mouthpiece.
