MONTEGO BAY, St James — A Kingston man was brought before St James Parish Court on Thursday on charges of defrauding four people of more than $6 million, after entering into agreements to purchase and trade motor vehicles which he never delivered.

Akeem Adamson, of Shortwood Road in Kingston, is charged with three counts of obtaining goods by false pretence and two counts of false pretence.

According to court documents, the first complainant met Adamson on November 1, 2022, and on November 10 she agreed for him to purchase a 2015 Toyota Premium for her. The price was $1.3 million.

She transferred $500,000 to him on November 10 and another $500,000 on November 16, then waited several months for Adamson to deliver the vehicle.

He failed to do so and she reported the matter to the police, leading to Adamson’s arrest.

She received $250,000 from him on February 14, 2023, but the remaining balance is still outstanding.

Regarding the second complainant, the allegations are that on May 29, 2023 he gave Adamson a Subaru car that he wanted to trade, but the vehicle was sold rather than traded.

The third complainant allegedly entered into an agreement with Adamson for the purchase of a Toyota Hiace. Court records indicate that the complainant then transferred $500,000 and an additional US$2,500 on September 5 and 9, respectively, but the vehicle was never delivered.

The fourth complainant allegedly agreed to pay Adamson $6.23 million for a 2019 Toyota Prado. She initially transferred $2 million, paid $1 million on the second occasion, and $1.23 million on the third. The vehicle was never delivered.

Adamson’s attorney, Donovan Collins, stated in his bail submission that his client had no intention of permanently depriving the complainants.

The lawyer explained that Adamson runs a legitimate car dealership with partners in Japan but that other parties did not keep their end of the bargain.

“We are currently in the process of liquidating certain real estate to ensure that other persons can be compensated… It is just a business deal that went sour… I respectfully ask that you grant him bail with conditions so that he might be in a better position to assist the process,” Collins added.

Two of the complainants who were present in court reached an amicable agreement after meeting with a mediator.

As a result, no evidence was offered against Adamson in relation to those two complainants.

However, presiding Judge Sasha-Marie Smith-Ashley was not inclined to grant him bail at the time and remanded him in custody until January 18 when the other two complainants are expected to appear.