Furniture maker on fraud charges granted bail

A St Catherine furniture maker who is charged with several counts of fraud for allegedly collecting money for work he failed to complete was granted $400,000 bail when he appeared in the St Catherine Parish Court on Friday.

The accused, Ricardo Chambers, of Edgewater in Portmore, St Catherine, is charged with three counts of misleading and deceptive conduct and three counts of fraudulent conversion.

It is alleged that Chambers fraudulently collected $375,000. The fraudulent acts were allegedly committed from 2021 to 2023.

During his court appearance on Friday, attorney-at-law Kamisha Mitto told Judge Kahon Lamey that her client should be before the civil court.

"During the passage of the Covid-19 pandemic, he moved from 14 employees to just himself and his struggles continue," Mitto said.

Mitto said that Chambers had even offered reimbursement to a complainant, but his suggestion was refused.

The lawyer said bail was necessary as Chambers is committed to honouring his obligations.

Bail was subsequently granted on condition that he reports to the Waterford Police Station three times weekly.

He is to reappear in court on September 18 when the matter will again be mentioned.

-Rasbert Turner

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