By Tanesha Mundle

Copyright jamaica-gleaner

An employee and a former employee of the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS) have both been acquitted of fraud charges in connection with a $222-million scheme uncovered at the state agency.

Andrea Picton, an accounting clerk, was found not guilty on 10 counts of conspiracy to defraud and one count of corrupt transactions yesterday. Sherene Farquharson, a former accounting clerk, was also found not guilty on the day before on seven counts. Justice Ann-Marie Lawrence-Graingerruled at the no-case level that there was no case to answer on another seven counts.

Picton was accused of disbursing fraudulent cheques while Farquharson was alleged to have prepared invoices for payments to persons who were not legitimately contracted by the agency.

However, former INSPORTS financial controller Andrew Wright, known also for promoting the French Connection and Chug It parties, along with two other defendants, Rudolph Barnes and Oneil Hope, have been remanded in custody.

The summation of their case is set to continue on Monday in the Home Circuit Court.

A sixth defendant, Jonnique Mills, had her bail extended.

The group was accused of being part of a network of former and current INSPORTS employees who allegedly wrote, signed, and cashed fraudulent cheques for individuals who were neither employed by nor contracted to the agency.

They faced various charges, including conspiracy to defraud; acquisition, use, and possession of criminal property; engaging in transactions involving criminal property; and larceny as a servant.

The suspected fraud and other irregularities were first discovered in 2017 during an internal review of INSPORTS’ financial records. The matter was subsequently referred to the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA), triggering a long-running investigation. Wright was eventually arrested in April 2023 while pursuing a wrongful dismissal case before the Industrial Disputes Tribunal.

REPRESENTATION

King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie represents Wright while Hope is represented by attorney-at-law Seymour Stewart, and Mills is represented by Jacqueline Asher. Attorney Steven Jackson is defending Barnes.

Reacting to the verdict, attorney-at-law Xavier Leveridge, who represents Picton, described the outcome as bittersweet.

“We are grateful that she was found not guilty on all 11 counts on the indictment, but at the same time, there is some level of displeasure on her part. It was obvious from the jump to all well-thinking persons that there was no way Miss Picton could have committed the crimes she was accused of,” he said.

Leveridge explained that although the trial lasted just over a year, the investigation had been ongoing since 2017, during which time Picton’s name had been “dragged through the mud”, severely damaging her reputation.

“Being found not guilty of a crime she did not commit is not, by itself, sufficient to restore her good name. We will take some time to digest the verdict and determine our next course of action,” he added.

Attorney Kimani Brydson, who represented Farquharson, said she was “overwhelmed with joy” at the not-guilty verdict.

“She is a single mother and a firm believer in God, so she really had to have faith to get through the process. It has been a long trial – almost nine months,” he said.

Brydson explained that the entire ordeal had significantly disrupted Farquharson’s life but that she was now focused on her family and moving forward.

“We are grateful for the verdict and were confident it was always going to be a not-guilty outcome,” he added.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com