Fifth suspect charged in $8m HEART fraud case
Published:Wednesday | May 3, 2023 | 12:49 AM
A key suspect in an $8-million fraud case at the HEART/NSTA Trust was on Tuesday nabbed by the police while attempting to board a flight at the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) in Kingston.
The suspect, 36-year-old Ricardo Golden, was arrested and charged by the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA).
MOCA Director of Communi-cations Major Basil Jarrett, in a statement late Tuesday, said that Golden is now the fifth person to be charged in connection with the investigation, which began in 2018.
The other persons charged to date are Anna-Kay Phinn-Tyrell and her husband, Michael Tyrell, former employees at HEART/NSTA Trust, as well as Tasha Bucknor and Shamar Bell – all of whom are presently before the courts.
The five are alleged to have been part of a conspiracy to fraudulently move money from the HEART/NSTA Trust to the accounts of persons who were neither employees nor contracted workers of the entity.
Golden was picked up by MOCA agents, Jarrett said, after he failed to report to the agency for questioning as instructed.
He was charged with receiving stolen property, conspiracy to defraud and money-laundering and is scheduled to appear in court later this week.
Jarrett praised the NMIA police for their support in carrying out Tuesday’s operations and lauded the team for their swift and professional conduct.