Deryck Penn appeared at the Magistrates’ Court on Friday to face charges that he forged eight cheques between February and July 2014, allegedly taking $15,200 that belonged to an employer.
Mr. Penn did not have a lawyer on Friday, but he told Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards that he plans to seek one.
According to Senior Crown Counsel Leslie-Ann Faulkner, Mr. Penn, a resident of West End, altered the amounts on cheques given to him by the complainant, Aasif Glasgow, before cashing them at the FirstCaribbean International Bank.
Mr. Glasgow became aware of the situation after the bank called his attention to the matter, Ms. Faulkner said.
The prosecution claimed that on Aug. 1, 2014, the defendant was given a cheque in the sum of $3,000 from Aasif Glasgow Backhoe Services, but he altered it to read $6,000 before presenting it to a teller at the bank.
“The teller became suspicious of the alterations that were on the cheque,” Ms. Faulkner said, adding that the teller turned the matter over to her supervisor.
The bank later carried out an investigation on the complainant’s account.
“There were a total of eight cheques which were altered double the amount, and in some [cases] even more than double the amount,” the prosecutor said.
Mr. Penn faces eight counts of forgery, eight counts of uttering a forged document, and eight counts of obtaining property under a forged document.
Ms. Richards set his bail at $60,000, and scheduled his next court appearance for July 24.