Trio freed in $370,000 cyber-theft case
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Three security guards charged under the Cybercrimes Act in connection with a more than $370,000 theft walked away on Wednesday after a mediation agreement brought the case to an unexpected end.
Christopher Howell, Delano Wright, and Shakey Stewart were accused of secretly accessing and spending money from a woman’s bank account. But with mediation reached and honoured, their case was dismissed in the St James Parish Court.
As part of the agreement, each man paid the complainant $100,000. With the compensation settled, prosecutors offered no evidence.
“Consider yourself fortunate. I am warning you; stay out of trouble,” Judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton cautioned before discharging them.
The allegations trace back to late August when the complainant attempted to withdraw cash from an NCB automated teller machine (ATM) in Montego Bay, only to discover her balance had mysteriously drained. The bank launched an internal probe, uncovering unauthorised online transactions made between August 22 and 27.
On October 6, an NCB representative contacted the woman and asked if she knew Christopher Howell. She admitted she did but insisted she had never given him access to her account. The bank found an e-mail linked to the disputed transactions, and the complainant began a quiet investigation of her own. When she reached out to Howell, the court heard, information he gave matched the e-mail used to siphon the funds.
The bank later enquired about Stewart and Wright. Again, the complainant confirmed knowing them but denied giving them permission.
Between August 22 and 27, NCB found that $371,468.98 had been spent on multiple online purchases.
The woman reported the matter to police, explaining she worked alongside Howell and Stewart at a Montego Bay business. With no lockers at the facility, she kept her purse on a shared desk.
During the investigation, Howell reportedly acknowledged understanding the accusations, Stewart said he felt stressed, while Wright remained silent. Howell is alleged to have accessed the card first and shared it with the others.
