St. Thomas Man and St. John Woman Arrested for Impersonating FBI Agents

ST. THOMAS—Alana Liburd, 30, of St. John and Yamini Potter, 31, of St. Thomas, were arrested today by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for impersonating FBI employees as part of a scheme to defraud people out of hundreds of dollars, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced. Both Liburd and Potter appeared today in District Court in St. Thomas before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller and were released on a $5,000 unsecured bond.

According to court documents, Potter and Liburd told several individuals that they were FBI employees responsible for forming a new FBI Taskforce in the Virgin Islands. Potter and Liburd then recruited several individuals to become FBI agents but only after receiving hundreds of dollars from them, which they claimed was for initial paperwork and training. Under federal law it is a felony offense to falsely assume or pretend to be an officer or employee of a federal agency and demand or obtain money or thing of value.

If convicted, Potter and Liburd each face up to three years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. The public is reminded that a criminal complaint is merely a charging document and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.