Andrew Clarke, a 58-year-old man who posed as a doctor and collected money under false pretences, has been sentenced to more than six years in prison by the St Catherine Parish Court.

The sentencing follows a disturbing case of deception that played out at the Spanish Town Hospital in late 2024.

Clarke had pleaded guilty to four counts of obtaining money by means of false pretence and four counts of uttering forged documents. The prosecution later withdrew the charge of impersonating a medical doctor.

Senior Parish Court Judge Janelle Nelson-Gayle handed Clarke a sentence of 36 months and 29 days for each count related to the forged documents, and an additional 12 months and 29 days for each false pretence charge. All sentences will run concurrently.

During the hearing, Clarke’s attorney, Abena Morris, appealed for leniency, pointing out that her client had already spent close to a year in custody. The judge, while acknowledging this, urged Clarke to reflect on his actions and leave behind his life of deception.

“Mr Clarke, kindly put down the medical gown,” the Jamaica Gleaner reported her saying. “I see where you have been committing crime since 1997. Therefore, you must learn from this, as you could have received up to 14 years, being a repeat offender.”

Judge Nelson-Gayle also praised the detectives from the St Catherine North Division for their thorough investigative work.

The case unfolded in November 2024, when police received reports that a so-called “Dr Clarke” had accepted over $2 million from individuals for medical procedures he never performed. Acting on the tip, detectives visited the Spanish Town Hospital compound, where they found Clarke in a doctor’s uniform, complete with a fabricated ID card bearing his name and photo.

An investigation quickly revealed that Clarke had no medical qualifications and had never been employed by any of the hospitals he claimed to be affiliated with.

The financial losses were significant: one complainant paid Clarke $1.7 million, another paid $600,000, and two others lost a combined total of $250,000—all for medical services that were never delivered.

To convince his victims, he furnished fake recommendations from various hospitals where he claimed to have been employed.