An 18-year-old woman who allegedly pretended to be a man on one of the popular social-network websites in an effort to defraud a woman of $20,000 was remanded in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.
Alexandra Parkin, a student from a Montego Bay address, is to return to court on April 1 for sentencing.
Parkin has pleaded guilty to fraud and obtaining money by false pretence.
Allegations are that in September, the accused, going by the name 'Jeffrey Jackson' in an effort to defraud the 36-year-old personal assistant, uploaded a picture of an Asian male on the social site.
It is reported that after the accused and the complainant became friends, the accused then informed the complainant that she is the father of two daughters who were ill.
It is alleged that by the following day, the accused told the complainant that one of her daughters was sick and was hospitalised.
Saddened by the news, it is alleged that the complainant then went to about three hospitals to visit the child but couldn't locate the child as the name given by the accused did not exist.
private hospital
It is alleged that the accused later explained to the complainant through text messages that her daughter was, in fact, in a private hospital undergoing surgery.
Interestingly, it is claimed that the sister of the accused also later called the complainant and told her that the other daughter had died.
It is alleged that the accused told the complainant that she was in some financial difficulty and could not pay her mother's utility bills; and as a result, the complainant made arrangements with the accused to collect $20,000 at a remittance outlet.
However, it is reported that things started to unravel when the complainant called the accused woman's house, asking for 'Jeffrey Jackson'. The accused's mother is said to have answered and denied knowing anyone by that name.
The complainant reportedly became suspicious and the matter was reported to the police. The accused was later arrested and charged.
