WIPL ex-director, wife charged with fraud
Published:Tuesday | December 21, 2021 | 12:10 AM
Former Island Lubes Distributors Limited director John Levy and his wife Donna were on Monday slapped with fraud charges in relation to the transfer of a motor car.
The couple is to appear before the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on January 6, 2022.
It is alleged that Mr Levy, in his capacity as director, bought a car without the company’s permission and then transferred the vehicle in his name.
The car in question is said to be the property of the company, a subsidiary of the West Indies Petroleum Limited (WIPL)
The Levys were charged after they were hauled in for questioning by investigators from the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigations Branch.
The 59-year-old businessman was charged with forgery, fraud as a director, conspiracy to defraud, simple larceny, and creating public mischief.
The 56-year-old Mrs Levy is facing charges of conspiracy to defraud and receiving stolen property.
John Levy was removed as director of Island Lubes in March 2021, while his wife, who was the company secretary, resigned in April 2020.
Levy and another WIPL ex-director, Courtney Wilkinson, have been embroiled in a legal battle with the company and its subsidiary Island Lubes.
Wilkinson was sacked from WIPL in February 2021.
Both directors were removed from their positions following allegations of unauthorised access to the electronic communication of two of WIPL’s current board directors.
Following their removal from the WIPL’s board, Levy and Wilkinson established and became directors of two new companies that reportedly sought to compete with WIPL and Island Lubes in petroleum distribution and the supply of lubricants and other products.
But the couple’s lawyer, Peter Townsend, said his clients are denying “any and every wrongdoing”.
“Mr Levy was a whistle-blower in fraudulent activities discovered by auditors in relation to the complainant’s company, [and] made a report to the police,” Townsend said.