Football administrator gets second chance

A St James woman who reportedly tried to defraud the sponsor of a Montego Bay-based football club out of more than $600,000 was discharged by the St James Parish Court on Monday, following mediation sessions with the complainant.

Tracey Hackett, 49, of a Granville address, was before the court on the charges of fraudulent conversion and 17 counts of conspiracy to defraud.

According to the allegations, between October 2022 and January 2023, the defendant conspired to claim various sums of money from the complainant, a sponsor of the Granville Football Club, in addition to receiving funds on December 19, 2022 to pay Christmas bonuses to the players.

It had been reported that the payments were to provide transportation for the team to attend matches outside of St James during the 2022-2023 football season.

However, it was eventually disclosed that the club did not play any games outside of the parish during that period, and that Hackett had collected the payments for her own benefit. A report was made, and Hackett was subsequently arrested and charged.

During Monday's court sitting before presiding judge Sasha-Marie Ashley, it was disclosed that Hackett and the complainant had settled the issue through restorative justice. As a result, the prosecution offered no further evidence against Hackett.

"You are discharged and you may go, hopefully having learned a valuable lesson and that you will never walk this path again. You have been given a second chance," Judge Ashley told Hackett.

- C.T.