Update | Man who posed as doctor at Spanish Town Hospital and collected money sent to prison

Fifty-eight-year-old Andrew Clarke, the man held at the Spanish Town Hospital last year for impersonating a medical doctor and collecting money for services, was today sentenced to over six years in prison in the St Catherine Parish Court.

Clarke pleaded guilty to four counts of obtaining money by means of false pretence and uttering forged documents.

The Crown withdrew the impersonation charge.

Clarke was sentenced by Senior Parish Court Judge Janelle Nelson-Gayle to 36 months and 29 days on each count of uttering forged documents, and 12 months and 29 days on each count of obtaining money by means of false pretence.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

Defence attorney Abena Morris pleaded for lenience, noting that her client has spent almost a year in custody.

The judge encouraged Clarke to maintain the peace upon completing his sentence.

“Mr Clarke, kindly put down the medical gown. I see where you have been committing crime since 1997. Therefore, you must learn from this, as you could have received up to 14 years, being a repeat offender.”

The judge also acknowledged the strong investigative work by detectives from the St Catherine North Division.

The facts of the case are that in November 2024, police received information that a "Dr Clarke" had collected over $2,000,000 from persons to perform various medical services but failed to honour the agreements.

Detectives from the St Catherine North Police Division went to the Spanish Town Hospital compound, where Clarke — dressed in a uniform with a doctor's identification card bearing his name and image — was arrested.

Following further investigation, it was revealed that he was not a doctor.

He was charged with impersonating a medical doctor, obtaining money by means of false pretence, and uttering forged documents.

It was revealed that he collected $1.7 million from one complainant, $600,000 from another and a total of $250,000 from two other complainants to provide medical services.

To convince his victims, he furnished fake recommendations from various hospitals where he claimed to have been employed.

- Rasbert Turner

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