Court cases taking toll on Messado, says attorney
DISBARRED REAL estate attorney Jennifer Messado had her bail extended yesterday as the preliminary proceedings in her fraud trial continued in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court.
Her attorney, Christopher Townsend, said that the entire process was taking a toll on his client but noted that he was focused on her health while doctors continue to monitor her.
“She is in reasonable health even though she had a stressful time recently, but she is being monitored at this time,”Townsend noted.
Messado was struck from the roll of practising attorneys in 2018 and slapped with nearly a dozen fraud-related charges in four separate cases as investigators alleged that she used forged documents to sell a number of properties valued at millions of dollars.
Dressed in a yellow and grey patterned dress, Messado appeared disinterested in yesterday’s proceedings, and at one point, one of her defence attorneys had to motion to her to desist from playing with her phone as its loud vibration could be heard around the courtroom.
Messado, 70, has several matters before the court, but only two were ready and the files completed, the court heard yesterday.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions indicated that it was awaiting a statement from the National Commercial Bank in relation to an online transfer of more than $28 million to the accused.
Messado was released from jail recently after spending a week behind bars for breaching a civil court order.
Since court proceedings were l aunched, Messado has collapsed in public and had an embarrassing experience on the stairs of the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court.
Messado’s bail was extended yesterday, and she is to report to the courts on February 4, 2021.