Portmore car salesman fraud case referred to Restorative Justice

Portmore car salesman Adrian Cope, who is accused of collecting money from several customers without delivering the vehicles they ordered, has had his case referred to Restorative Justice.

The matter came before the St Catherine Parish Court on Tuesday. Cope is charged with fraudulent conversion, breaches of the Consumer Protection Act, and deceptive conduct.

When the case was mentioned before Senior Parish Court Judge Desiree Alleyne, the court was informed that two complainants had been compensated. One received $400,000 and another $300,000, and their matters were disposed of at their request.

However, a third complainant argued that the $1,035,000 paid to her was insufficient, claiming Cope owes her more.

Attorney-at-law Odane Marston told the court that his client only owed the complainant the amount transferred to his account. He argued that any additional informal financial arrangements would be civil matters.

The case was referred to Restorative Justice, and the parties are scheduled to return to the St Catherine Parish Court on September 15.

Cope, who is on $700,000 bail, also had his bail conditions lifted.

The allegations are that between June 9, 2020, and December 16, 2025, Cope collected more than $3 million from six complainants as payment for motor vehicles.

The complainants allegedly never received the vehicles and, after unsuccessful attempts to recover their money, reported the matter to the police.

An investigation by the Portmore Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) led to Cope's arrest and subsequent charges.

- Rasbert Turner 

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.