A man who visited a bank to encash a cheque while purporting to be the true owner of the account on which the cheque was drawn was on Tuesday slapped with an 18-month prison sentence when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court.

Needen Walker was held at a branch of the National Commercial Bank (NBC) in Kingston where he went to encash the cheque, valued at $179,000, with a forged driver’s licence in the name of the bank account holder.

However, Walker, who was sentenced to 18 months on charges of attempting to obtain credit by fraud and uttering forged documents after pleading guilty, told the court that someone had given him the cheque to encash and that he did it because he was unable to send his two sons to school.

The court heard that Walker went to the bank on February 29 to change the cheque, and submitted the driver’s licence in the name of the account holder on whose bank account the cheque was being drawn, along with account holder’s account number and other personal information.

Prior to going to NCB, the court heard that Walker went to an insurance company and drew the money from the complainant’s account.

Walker was held at the bank on February 30 when he returned to collect the money.

But in his defence, Walker told Senior Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey that he was only responsible for going to the bank with the cheque.

“Is somebody approach me to change the cheque,” he said.

“And they gave you the driver’s licence with your picture on it?” the magistrate asked Walker, who responded that he was “telling the truth”.

The magistrate then asked Walker why he should not be imprisoned for his actions. “Mi have two sons,” he responded while pointing out that the younger was six years old.

“That means six years now you have a son and should know better,” RM Pusey said.

Moreover, she said, “It’s not a chance encounter; that man would’ve had to approach you before. It’s a carefully orchestrated plan and called for a certain machination of the mind.”

Walker then begged the magistrate for leniency, but she was not feeling merciful towards him.

“You get up and put your face on a fake driver’s licence to try and take out $179,000 out of a man’s account. Why should I be lenient?” SRM Pusey asked.

“I could not send my sons to school,” Walker answered before he was sentenced to 18 months on both charges. They sentences will, however, run concurrently.

Walker was also charged with illegal possession of identity information, but the charge was withdrawn.