JTA making strides in recovering ‘fraud assets’

Western Bureau:

Byron Farquharson, director general of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), says the pressure of COVID-19 has delayed the transfer of the association’s real estate properties, which were acquired through a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme perpetrated against the association.

The properties in question are located at the Dupont, St Andrew; Angels in St Catherine, and Queen Hill in St Andrew.

“We are working through our attorney to have the Supreme Court sign over these properties to the association. We are at the final stage in this process and are currently waiting for the judge to sign the order,” said Farquharson. “The process is delayed mainly because of reduced activities in the courts due to COVID-19.”

Farquharson noted that despite the seemingly slow pace of recovery, the JTA is pleased that some progress has been made and that a substantial amount of our stolen assets has been recovered.

Farquharson was speaking at Monday’s first day of the JTA’s 56th annual conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James.

“We have not recovered every dime, or every dollar, but we have covered some and therefore all is not lost,” said Farquharson, in reference to the discovery of the 2014 fraudulent activities carried out allegedly by its former accounting officer, Marlon Francis.

“We have some properties and we are in the process of trying to acquire them. There is a court process involved, but the court is on COVID-19 lockdown and it makes the processing that much longer, but things are happening; and we are hopeful that very soon we can get the court order and have the matter cleared up,” he said.

“Much work has been done in trying to recover as much as is humanly possible from those who have defrauded the association. By the next conference year (2021), the association is hoping to positively report that the JTA has acquired at least three more properties in the name of the association,” Farquharson said.