Trustee: $78m available for payout in SSL fraud claims

Trustee Caydion Campbell has warned victims of the alleged multibillion-dollar fraud at Stocks & Securities Limited (SSL) that no fictitious gains, unrealised profits, or opportunity costs will be considered in payouts.

Campbell announced on April 3 that proof of claims must be submitted by April 30, with payments set to begin in May. This follows more than two years after the scheme, which devastated clients including sprint icon Usain Bolt, came to public attention.

Campbell explained that clients deemed eligible will receive a pro-rated payment from the SSL Victims Compensation Fund, capitalised using an undisclosed portion of management fees collected to date.

“The claims from victims will be assessed and I will ultimately have to decide what amount, if any, is admissible for a distribution,” Campbell said on Tuesday in response to questions from The Gleaner.

“Where we have, or receive, information that indicates payments to the client by SSL and/or Panton, these will be deducted in finalising the admissible claim for distribution purposes,” he added. “Some claims may be denied if our analysis indicates full or overpayment to the client, based on the actual cash they invested and realised gains.”

Panton is a reference to Jean-Ann Panton, the former SSL client relationship manager who is the only person so far charged in the fraud case.

NOT ALL WILL QUALIFY FOR PAYOUT

Campbell warned that not all claims will qualify for payouts and even those initially accepted for voting purposes may be adjusted or denied

“For example, a proof of claim may be received for $100, but, after claim adjudication, the trustee denies the claim or admits only $80 or even increases it to $120. This is a core responsibility of a trustee – impartially balancing the interest of all stakeholders of the bankrupt entity,” he said.

Campbell said US$500,000 ($78.4 million) is available for payout.

A previous phase of activities focused on transferring cash and local equities to clients who were not affected by the alleged fraud.

An earlier report by the trustee indicated that the fund would be supported by a 7.5 per cent quasi-management fee on SSL’s off-balance sheet assets, projected to generate $345 million. Of this, $153 million was earmarked for victims, with the remainder going toward proprietary estate recovery and other SSL clients. It is unknown how much of this sum has been collected.

Campbell, who took over as trustee in May 2024, is leading the court-supervised closure of the Hugh Croskery-founded brokerage house.

JA’S LARGEST FRAUD SCHEME

The fraud scheme has been described as one of Jamaica’s largest, affecting more than 200 accounts and allegedly siphoning more than US$30 million, including US$6.2 million from Bolt’s company, Welljen Limited.

No further court dates have been set, but Campbell confirmed that a new report will be submitted in June 2025, covering activities up to May 31, marking one year since the winding-up resumed.

Campbell said there have been no further reports submitted to the Supreme Court, apart from the December 5, 2024, submission of voting results from the first meeting of creditors and claimants held in October. That submission also included appointments to a Committee of Inspection, which now oversees SSL’s operations. The committee is chaired by attorney Tim Prudhoe, with Joan Willoughby as deputy chair, and members representing Welljen Limited, Jean Forde, and Patrick Topping. Welljen is represented through its attorneys, Frater, Ennis & Gordon.

Campbell confirmed that a new report will be submitted in June 2025, covering activities up to May 31, marking one year since the winding-up resumed.

Forde and Welljen have filed lawsuits against SSL.

In the October 2024 report, Campbell revealed that a US$1-million employee dishonesty insurance payout was used to pay expenses, including bills related to temporary management.

“No payment was made to the victims of the fraud,” the report stated, warning that full recovery was unlikely.

editorial@gleanerjm.com