Deacon freed of fraud charges

A deacon who was implicated in a $2.1 million fraud surrounding forged battery warranty invoices has been acquitted of all charges in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court.

Conray Loney, 51, a former stock clerk at Kingston Industrial Garage (KIG), walked free on Tuesday after he was found not guilty of conspiracy to defraud, uttering forged documents, obtaining goods by forged documents, and larceny as a servant.

The charges stemmed from allegations that Loney submitted 117 forged battery warranty invoices, allowing more than $2 million worth of vehicle batteries to be fraudulently obtained from the dealership.

Loney, who had been employed to KIG for 27 years, consistently denied the allegations.

The deacon, who was represented by attorney-at-law Courtney Foster, had been on trial since October 2023.

He was granted bail in 2022 in the sum of $500,000, following an application by his then attorney Nicholas Edmond, who argued that Loney had no direct dealings with customers and was not in a position to commit the alleged fraud.

- Tanesha Mundle

Follow The Gleaner on X and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com