FREDERIKSTED — A former bank teller, who now works as a clerk at the Frederiksted Post Office, has been accused of orchestrating a sophisticated financial scheme that defrauded a 90-year-old man out of $100,000.
Jahmaira Farrell, 29, was arrested Monday and charged with a slew of financial crimes, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
The VIPD’s Economic Crimes Unit started an investigation on January 29, 2025, after the elderly victim filed a complaint alleging that funds had been fraudulently withdrawn from his account. Detectives later uncovered that Farrell, then employed as a teller at Oriental Bank, had allegedly exploited her position to access the victim’s account without authorization.
VIPD mug shot of Jahmaira Farrell, 29, of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Farrell is accused of creating falsified documents that facilitated the issuance of a manager’s check in the amount of $100,000, which was made payable to an accomplice.
According to investigators, the accomplice deposited the manager’s check into his Banco Popular de Puerto Rico account. He then wired $60,386.49 to Metro Motors Management Incorporation in Florida to purchase a 2022 blue Acura MDX. The vehicle is owned by Farrell. The accomplice is also alleged to have given Farrell a $30,000 check, which she deposited into her personal account at the Bank of St. Croix. The remaining $9,613.51 was allegedly spent by the accomplice using his Banco Popular account.
During the investigation, the ECU discovered additional fraudulent checks linked to the victim’s account, but those transactions fell outside the statute of limitations and could not be pursued, according to the VIPD.
Following the conclusion of the investigation, an arrest warrant was issued for Farrell. On June 9, detectives from the Economic Crimes Unit located Farrell at the U.S. Postal Service facility in Mars Hill, Frederiksted. She was advised of her rights, served with the arrest warrant, and taken into custody without incident. Farrell was then transported to the Wilbur H. Francis Command police operations building, where she was booked and formally charged.
Charges filed against Farrell include obtaining money by false pretense, forgery, uttering or passing forged or counterfeited matters, passing or possession of forged bills or notes, embezzlement by fiduciaries, grand larceny, aggravated identity theft, participating in fraud on creditors, access to computer for fraudulent purposes, financial exploitation of an elderly or dependent adult, and conspiracy.
Bail for Farrell was set at $35,000. Unable to post bail, she was remanded to the custody of the John A. Bell Adult Correctional Facility in Golden Grove.
The accused was scheduled to appear for an advice-of-rights hearing at the Superior Court in Kingshill this morning.
