Embattled real estate attorney, Jennifer Messado, is accused of defrauding entertainer Mavado of almost $31 million.
She was granted bail in the sum of $5 million when she appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Wednesday morning to face the charge.
It is alleged that Messado collected $30.7 million from the dancehall star through his attorney after professing that she was acting on behalf of a property owner who she claimed was incarcerated overseas. However, it was allegedly later revealed that the owner was not incarcerated, had not given her permission nor was he selling his property in Grosvenor Terrace, Kingston 8.
She has reportedly returned more than $7 million to Mavado, it was said in court.
“Messado had not been granted permission to sell the property and she kept on delaying and delaying until we realized that something was wrong. Subsequent to the case being reported to the police, monies were returned, about $9 million in all,” Tamika Harris, Mavado’s lawyer, told Loop News.
It’s just the latest accusation of misconduct against the lawyer.
Messado was arrested three weeks ago following allegations that she tried to sell properties owned by a church without the owner’s consent. She was arrested along with a broker, Beverly Barakat, in connection with the “sale” of the property valued at $232 million.
Investigators alleged that on December 20 last year, Messado prepared a sales agreement for two parcels of land without the knowledge and consent of the owner. It’s alleged that she collected US$270,000 as down payment from the prospective purchaser.
More recently, she was hit with more charges, this time with forgery, uttering forged documents and attempting to obtain money by means of forged documents.
Detectives from the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Branch had said at the time that the well-known real estate attorney was under investigation in relation to at least seven other real estate transactions.