Scammer says poor economic mobility makes illegal money attractive

Several years after abandoning an engineering career for the millions he says can be made through scamming, Marcus* is not asking Jamaicans to absolve him of his crimes.

Instead, he wants them to examine the economic environment that made illegal money attractive to him.

“I’m not saying people don’t have a right to believe what I’m doing is wrong. I’m saying before you judge the person, examine the environment that produced the behaviour,” he told THE STAR. When THE WEEKEND STAR previously spoke with Marcus, the then 34-year-old revealed that his ‘regular’ job paid a little more than $250,000 monthly. But he claimed that in scamming, a ‘disappointing’ month could bring in about $2 million, with considerably more earned in lucrative months.

Now, Marcus argues that his decision reflects a wider frustration among educated Jamaicans who have done what society expects of them but remain dissatisfied with their prospects for financial independence.

“Jamaica has educated, capable young people who are working and still cannot afford basic independence,” he said. “When legitimate participation in an economy doesn’t provide a reasonable path towards economic mobility, people begin looking for alternatives, and some of those alternatives will be illegal.”

Marcus is careful, however, not to portray himself as someone who had no other option.

“I wouldn’t say I decided legitimate work was impossible. I decided that the legitimate opportunities available to me were unlikely to produce the life I wanted within a reasonable period,” he said.

“My frustration was never that absolutely no work existed. It was that the compensation being offered often seemed completely disconnected from the cost of actually living.”

He believes economic hardship is sometimes discussed too narrowly, arguing that frustration can exist even among people who are employed and educated.

“People hear ‘economic hardship’ and imagine somebody literally starving,” Marcus said. “Economic frustration can also mean recognising that despite doing everything society considers responsible, meaningful financial progress remains extremely slow.”

But his argument comes with an admission: the economy cannot bear all the blame.

“Nothing makes me morally exceptional. People respond differently to the same circumstances. Some people will endure economic hardship indefinitely rather than do anything illegal. Others, like myself, won’t,” he said.

Marcus also conceded that whatever economic frustration influenced his initial decision, his continued involvement in scamming cannot be characterised simply as survival.

“At this point, I would be dishonest if I said it was purely necessity,” he admitted. “Maybe economic frustration explains why I became receptive to it, but once you begin earning significantly more money, lifestyle becomes part of the equation.”

Still, he believes fewer people would be attracted to scamming if legitimate employment offered a clearer route towards financial mobility.

“Greed exists in wealthy countries too, so I’m not suggesting prosperity eliminates crime,” Marcus said. “But when people believe legitimate work can realistically provide comfort and mobility, the incentive to risk imprisonment for money becomes less compelling.”

Despite his criticism of Jamaica’s economic conditions, Marcus ultimately places responsibility for his criminal activity on himself.

“I made my decision. Nobody forced me. But personal responsibility and institutional responsibility can coexist. I can be responsible for choosing an illegal response while society can still be responsible for creating economic conditions that make that response increasingly attractive.”