Roy DeCambre, founder and lead principal of National Fuels and Lubricants, is pressing his claim that he has been defrauded of J$265 million (US$1.7 million) from an escrow account at NCB.

DeCambre maintains that signatures including NCB’s Group CEO Patrick Hylton and attorney Grace McKoy were placed over a forgery of his signature and that, despite him alerting both the bank and the police to the fake signature, the cheque was honoured.

The escrow cheque was part of the sale of 10 National Fuels gas stations to Total Jamaica which DeCambre is now contesting in court.

Speaking with Our Today, De Cambre declared: “This is a case of wilful negligence. They cannot hide behind the brand.”

“There were seven withdrawals from NCB purported to be under the signature of attorney Ian Phillipson (now deceased), signatures which were proven to be fraudulent by the Forensic Document Examiner. The Examiner named PJ Asher as the author. I did not get a dollar from the escrow account.”

This is a serious allegation that could tarnish reputations. 

DeCambre was asked if he raises this matter with NCB’s Head of Legal Counsel Dave Garcia and Group CEO Hylton in an effort to have it redressed. Perhaps there was a misunderstanding that could have been clarified.

“Having provided NCB’s General Counsel and Corporate Secretary Dave Garcia with the Forensic Examiner’s Report that says the signatures for the withdrawals were fraudulent, Garcia replied ‘He doesn’t think this is a matter that necessarily concerns NCB’,” he explained.

“My question is why didn’t he call the police?” DeCambre queried further.

DeCambre now says he will be suing NCB for negligence because the way NCB handled the account can only be described as wilfully negligent.

Our Today reached out to Dave Garcia regarding DeCambre’s claims and he responded in a forthright manner.

“DeCambre has received responses on the matter over the years. NCB will provide an official response on this matter and answer your queries.”

Over recent months, there have been ghastly reports of fraudulent activity at some Jamaican financial institutions, the most notable being the Stocks & Securities Limited (SSL) scandal, which has placed a spotlight on the entire sector with calls for greater regulation and vetting of staff.

According to DeCambre, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has charged prominent corporate attorney P.J. Asher with 17 counts of fraud connected to the Total Jamaica case. The Major Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) has added two more counts for the fraudulent transfer of the Featherbed Lane National Fuels gas station which he says was signed not only by Total Jamaica’s attorney and corporate secretary PJ Asher but two directors of Total Jamaica, namely Christian Chamas and Luc Maiche.

The charges have been a harrowing ordeal for PJ Asher, who is unwell. He has consistently maintained his innocence and made it clear that he has never breached any legal protocols involving the transfer of gas stations to Total Jamaica.

In the criminal matter, PJ Asher’s bail conditions were amended to allow him to travel overseas for medical purposes. In the Featherbed Lane transaction, despite there being three signatures, to date, only P.J. Asher has been charged.

“After trying unsuccessfully for 14 years, writing letters, sending emails to all the necessary officers of NCB, all I could get was ‘we are looking about it’.”

“I wrote a letter to the Bank of Jamaica demanding it supplies me with information on the account. They did so in just eight days and have been most helpful,” said DeCambre.

The Total Jamaica case is set to be heard in the Commercial Court on July 2, 2023, for ten days. The criminal trial takes place on October 2, 2023, and will be by a judge only.