A teenage boy who was arrested following his involvement in a $2 million cheque scam was granted bail.

Charged with possession and uttering of a forged document and obtaining money by means of false pretense is 19 year-old Arthur Coleman of Rosemount Meadows in St. James.

Bail was offered to him in the amount of $250,000 when he appeared before the Montego Bay RM court on Thursday, June 4.

As condition of his bail, he was instructed to report to the Freeport Police Station on Tuesdays and Fridays and is booked to return to court on July 22. The incident came to light in January 2009 after the Chief Financial Officer at a certain Montego Bay business established that the company’s current account was in overdraft and launched an investigation.

It was subsequently discovered that 10 cheques totaling $2.8 million were prepared and disbursed without accompanying documents from the accounts department between October 2008 and January 2009.

Five of the cheques amounting to $1.4 million were reportedly made out to Coleman, who has no affiliation with the company and lodged to various banks. The five remaining cheques were reportedly made out to three other persons who have not yet been apprehended. Investigations revealed that the cheque leaves were stolen and the signature super-imposed, meaning that it was computer generated. Coleman was arrested in May of this year.