NASSAU-A magistrate on Tuesday jailed a serial scammer who tricked three people out of hundreds of dollars in a phoney ATM cheque deposit scam.
Jackson Colebrooke admitted to a scheme in which he deposited empty envelopes to his victims’ accounts and immediately withdrew money.
In total, Colebrooke scammed his victims out of $1,580.
He carried out the scam by convincing total strangers to deposit envelopes to their accounts that they believed contained cheques for $600, so that he could immediately access cash.
Colebrooke didn’t withdraw the total value of the “cheque”, giving his victims the impression that he had tipped them for their assistance.
By the time the unwitting men realised that Colebrooke had deposited empty envelopes, Colebrooke was long gone.
Colebrooke, 35, of Young Street, met all of his marks at Royal Bank of Canada ATMs.
Police eventually nabbed Colebrooke on June 25. And he gave arresting officers false names, leading them to charge him with deceit.
In court, Colebrooke apologised for duping his victims and he begged Magistrate Sandradee Gardiner for leniency.
He asked for the opportunity to repay his victims.
But, Magistrate Gardiner said reimbursement wasn’t an option for the repeat offender. And she jailed him for one year and four months.
This February, another magistrate allowed Colebrooke to repay a fraud victim to avoid two months in prison.
Magistrate Gardiner branded Colebrooke a “menace to society.” She said he had made a career by defrauding people out of their hard-earned money.
She urged Colebrooke to use his time in prison to learn a trade.
Colebrooke received a reduced sentence for his early guilty plea.
