Reggae star conned out of $30k

Reggae legend Marcia Griffiths is battling to get over US$30,000 back from a conman who tricked her by claiming he was setting up a museum in her honour in the US.

Ray Morgan confessed to scamming Griffiths and has reportedly suffered a stroke and is unable to walk.

“Mr Morgan is not doing well at all. It doesn’t look good,” Senior Parish Judge Lori-Anne Cole-Montaque said in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court. “He cannot walk but he will have to come here at some point,” she said adding that if he does not repay the money he will be imprisoned.

Morgan’s illness is another setback for Griffiths. Morgan approached the former Bob Marley backing singer in 2021, claiming to be a property manager seeking to purchase properties to construct a museum to preserve her legacy.

He told her that the museum would cost US$2 million and that along with his alleged overseas colleagues, he would finance its construction. In July 2022, Morgan told Griffiths that he would instruct his overseas partners to expedite the process. He claimed that he would lend the reggae singer US$500,000 to purchase the property.

The court heard that Griffiths was told that purchasing the property would require over US$30,000 in stamp duty and taxes. Morgan told Griffiths that she should pay him, which he received via wire transfer. Following this payment, Griffiths made several attempts to contact Morgan, who stopped answering her calls. Morgan had previously served 12 years in prison for multiple fraud.