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Lawyer gets two years for fraud
BY TANESHA MUNDLE Observer staff reporter mundlet@jamaicaobserver.com
Saturday, April 21, 2012
OSWALD James, a popular Kingston-based attorney who was recently found guilty of defrauding a Canadian client of more than $20 million in a real estate transaction, was yesterday sentenced to two years in prison.
The sentence was handed down by Resident Magistrate Lorna Shelly Williams in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court where James was earlier found guilty of fraudulently converting US$237,500, which he received for the purchase of a property.
The attorney was, however, later granted bail in the sum of $2 million after his attorney Brian Barnes notified the court of his intention to appeal.
Barnes had urged the magistrate to impose a non-custodial sentence in spite the amount involved. He also maintained his client's earlier position that he was not guilty of any fraud and that his client had invested the money based on the complainant's instruction.
Barnes also asked the magistrate to take into consideration the publicity that the case has received which has virtually destroyed the attorney and his legal practice.
But the magistrate, in response, said that she has to impose a custodial sentence based on the amount of the money.
James was found guilty by RM Shelly Williams on March 19 following his trial on a charge of fraudulent conversion which lasted for almost two years.
The lawyer, a partner in the firm James and Company, was charged on August 14, 2009 by Fraud Squad detectives after the complainant, a Canadian businessman, reported the matter in June 2009, after the attorney failed to refund the money when the deal fell through.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz1sh2w95rq
BY TANESHA MUNDLE Observer staff reporter mundlet@jamaicaobserver.com
Saturday, April 21, 2012
OSWALD James, a popular Kingston-based attorney who was recently found guilty of defrauding a Canadian client of more than $20 million in a real estate transaction, was yesterday sentenced to two years in prison.
The sentence was handed down by Resident Magistrate Lorna Shelly Williams in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court where James was earlier found guilty of fraudulently converting US$237,500, which he received for the purchase of a property.
The attorney was, however, later granted bail in the sum of $2 million after his attorney Brian Barnes notified the court of his intention to appeal.
Barnes had urged the magistrate to impose a non-custodial sentence in spite the amount involved. He also maintained his client's earlier position that he was not guilty of any fraud and that his client had invested the money based on the complainant's instruction.
Barnes also asked the magistrate to take into consideration the publicity that the case has received which has virtually destroyed the attorney and his legal practice.
But the magistrate, in response, said that she has to impose a custodial sentence based on the amount of the money.
James was found guilty by RM Shelly Williams on March 19 following his trial on a charge of fraudulent conversion which lasted for almost two years.
The lawyer, a partner in the firm James and Company, was charged on August 14, 2009 by Fraud Squad detectives after the complainant, a Canadian businessman, reported the matter in June 2009, after the attorney failed to refund the money when the deal fell through.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz1sh2w95rq