Judge says allegations in Sagicor fraud case serious

A senior parish judge at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Tuesday described allegations against four Sagicor employees implicated in a multimillion-dollar fraud as “serious”.

Presiding judge Lori-Ann Cole-Montague made the comment after quietly reading a document detailing the allegations, following a discussion regarding bail conditions.

The accused – Tishan Samuels, Malika McLeod, Alysia Mouton White, and her sister Trecia Moulton – are facing fraud-related charges, including multiple counts of larceny as a servant and conspiracy to defraud following an investigation by the Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (CTOC) that discovered $65 million had allegedly been removed from the US-dollar accounts of six Sagicor customers.

On Tuesday, Judge Cole-Montague imposed stricter bail conditions on the four women. They were ordered to report to the nearest police station on Tuesdays and Thursdays between the hours of 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. They were also ordered to surrender all travel documents and a stop order was placed at all ports.

Additionally, a fingerprint order was also made for the women.

Defence attorney Rita Allen-Brown argued against stricter bail conditions for her clients, Samuels and Moulton. She told the judge that the defendants were all on a $1 million bail and their passports were already in police custody.

Allen-Brown Said the defendants have not violated their bail.

“There is absolutely nothing before this court to suggest the need for all these conditions,” Allen-Brown said, to which the judge responded, “It is the court on its own notion that sees it necessary for conditions to be imposed. The reason why I asked the clerk to give me the allegation and I’m trying to exercise as much discretion to protect the clients. I have sight of what is in front of me, which are serious allegations.”

But after his unsuccessful attempt to have Mouton White’s passport remain in her possession due a “delicate matter” she needed to attend to in Canada, defence attorney Matthew Hyatt – who appeared on behalf of Bert Samuels – told reporters his client “is eager to clear her name”.

“She is absolutely 100 per cent innocent in this matter. We think and believe that the prosecution is on a fishing expedition in regards to Miss Alysia Moulton White,” Hyatt said.

He added that Moulton White is “anxious as anyone would be in these circumstances, but she remains faithful in God”.

Additionally, Hyatt requested video footage from the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Fraud Squad of the Sagicor’s banking hall. He said Moulton White is charged with fraud involving $661,000.

Despite the funds being deposited in Moulton White’s account in August, Hyatt indicated that he requested disclosure of the video footage for September 21 and 30, 2022, “so we can see who it is that made those sums”.

“She is charged for the amount of $661,000. Now in comparison to a $65-million fraud, that is very small and we are saying there is a portion of money that entered her account, she has no knowledge of that money whatsoever,” he added.

Moulton White was the vice-president of group marketing for Sagicor Group Jamaica, while her sister served as manager at the bank’s Liguanea Branch in St Andrew.

McLeod was employed as a personal banker, and Samuels was a client care officer at Sagicor Bank.

All four were ordered to return to court on April 27, as the case file has not yet been completed.

The prosecution revealed that partial disclosure is expected to be done on March 31.