3 Get Prison for Running ‘Switch’ Scam

Three of four men who admitted running a confidence game called the “Jamaican Switch” were sentenced to state prison Friday and ordered to pay restitution to four victims they bilked of thousands of dollars.

A fourth man was placed on probation for three years after authorities said he played a lesser role in the scheme.

James Brooks and Edward John King, both 38, were sentenced by Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Alan B. Haber to three years and eight months in state prison. Jerome Gooden, 36, was sentenced to three years. The three, all from Houston, had pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy and grand theft charges.

Archie Taylor, 37, of Denver was given probation after pleading guilty to a lesser charge of conspiracy to commit grand theft.

Restitution Ordered

Besides prison time, Haber also ordered Brooks, King and Gooden to pay more than $20,000 to the four people they admitted swindling.

Another $5,000 seized when the men were arrested already has been divided among the victims. Authorities said one of the men, posing as a Jamaican seaman on shore leave, would approach a victim, show him a thick wad of cash and explain that he didn’t trust banks. He would then ask the victim to drive him to a hard-to-find address and his accomplices would follow in a second car.

One of the accomplices from the car behind would approach on foot, offer directions and the two would stage an argument about the safety of bank deposits. The argument would end with the victim being asked to safeguard the sailor’s money in an envelope with some of his own cash. Before leaving the victim, the men would replace the envelope with one filled with cut newspapers.

The incidents occurred last year.