Judge unmoved by ‘sick baby’ appeal in fraud accused’s bail application
Defendants in $17-million HEART/NSTA Trust probe appear in court
Published:Thursday | December 5, 2024 | 12:08 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Kevina Atkins, one of the two persons charged in the ongoing $17-million HEART/NSTA Trust fraud investigation, was, yesterday, offered bail following a successful application by her lawyer, who cited the welfare of her infant child in his submission.
Atkins, a resident of Flanker, St James, was offered bail in the sum of $600,000 with three sureties during her bail hearing before the St James Parish Court. Her co-defendant, Simoes Ellis, who hails from Gregory Park in Portmore, St Catherine, was offered bail in the sum of $1 millon with three sureties.
During the bail application before presiding parish judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton, defence attorney Henry McCurdy stressed that Atkins was the mother of two children and that her younger child, who was born earlier this year, has an illness that has worsened since Atkins was taken into custody following an operation by the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency on November 29.
“Ms Atkins has a four-month-old baby, and the baby is not well. The baby is sick. The baby is suffering because of the mother’s time in custody. Babies have a thing where they miss their mothers, and they miss their fathers, too, but when they miss their mothers, it is worse,” said McCurdy. “The child’s father is a good father, but the baby is constantly crying. The baby thing has touched my heart.”
“I am happy it has touched your heart, counsel, but unfortunately, I cannot say the same for me,” Fairclough-Hylton replied. “I do not believe I am being unkind or inhumane, but I do believe the court’s office will extend as many courtesies as they can and will make contact with the Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency so that the stop order and the surrendering of the travel documents can be processed as quickly as possible so that she [Atkins] can go home today.”
In serious cases, defendants are regularly asked to surrender their travel documents before bail can be processed.
Regarding Ellis, McCurdy told the court that he had no previous criminal convictions and did not have a passport that would need to be surrendered.
In the meantime, the court was told that an arresting officer’s statement and two witness statements were outstanding from the prosecution’s case-file.
Fairclough-Hylton subsequently granted bail to Atkins and Ellis with the stipulation that they must both report to the police three days per week and surrender all travel documents. Stop orders were issued for both of them so as to prevent them from leaving the island. They are to return to court on February 12.
Atkins and Ellis are charged in relation to more than $4.9 million out of the $17 million currently under investigation in the HEART/NSTA Trust fraud probe. Atkins is charged with receiving stolen property, possession of criminal property, and conspiracy to defraud; and Ellis is charged with larceny as a servant, possession of criminal property, and conspiracy.
According to the allegations against them, between December 2018 and April 2019, Ellis prepared lists of participants to receive stipends under the HEART/NSTA Trust’s Youth Employment in Digital and Animation Industry programme. Fictitious names were listed, and the funds linked to those names were diverted to his and Atkins’ bank accounts. The anomalies were eventually detected by persons at the National Commercial Bank, leading to the fraud probe.