Judge grants bail to man accused of $40m loan fraud using elder’s title
KINGSTON, Jamaica — A man who is accused of obtaining a $40 million loan from a local company by using the title of another man had his bail reviewed during his case management hearing on Tuesday in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court.
Marlon Plummer is charged with uttering a forged document, obtaining credit by fraud and conspiracy to defraud.
Allegations are that the 78-year-old complainant approached the loan company for a loan; however, he never received it. He reportedly attempted to retrieve his title but upon further investigation, it was revealed that Plummer had allegedly used the title to obtain a loan from the company.
It is further alleged that the complainant’s signature was forged on the documents used to secure the loan, without his knowledge or consent.
The title is associated with a property owned by the complainant, valued at $165 million.
According to arguments presented by the prosecution, evidence has shown that the money from the institution was traced to a bank account belonging to Plummer.
Plummer’s attorney argued that there appears to be some level of internal involvement on the part of the loan company itself.
“My client received certain instructions from the company itself… the said loan company, Your Honour… that is why I am saying, Your Honour, that he signed for the respective loan himself,” the attorney submitted.
Presiding Judge Sanchia Burrell, however, questioned how the loan application supported by the complainant’s title was processed in Plummer’s name without the complainant’s permission.
“How does he escape the charge that he obtained credit by fraud, when the loan application, supported by this man’s title, without this man’s permission, was in this man’s name, and he obtained the loan on the strength of the collateral, which is this man’s title, and the money is in his bank account?” she questioned.
The conditions of Plummer’s $4 million bail, with one to two sureties, require him to report to the Matilda’s Corner Police Station every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday between 6:00 am and 6:00 pm.
He is also required to surrender his travel documents. His fingerprints were also taken.
He is scheduled to return to the St Andrew Parish Court on November 11, 2025.
— Vanassa McKenzie
