More than a dozen charges laid against three in SSL fraud probe

More than a dozen criminal charges have now been filed against three individuals taken into custody over the weekend in connection with the alleged multibillion-dollar fraud at the collapsed investment firm Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL), according to attorneys and law-enforcement sources.

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Those charged are SSL founding director Hugh Croskery, his daughter Sarah Meany, and former SSL chief executive officer Zachary Harding. All three face multiple counts, including fraudulently inducing persons to invest; failure to register a company carrying on business in Jamaica; carrying on a securities business without a dealer’s licence; failure to apply to the Financial Services Commission to be registered for securities issued; and breaches of the Banking Services Act. The charges arise under the Securities Act, the Bank of Jamaica Act, the Banking Services Act and the Larceny Act.

Croskery was granted bail in the sum of $1 million and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on January 26, his attorney, King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie, confirmed. Croskery has also been ordered to surrender his travel documents as part of the bail conditions. Attorney-at-law Samoi Campbell is also representing him.

Sources said Meany and Harding were similarly granted bail, though the specific terms of their release were not disclosed.

Champagnie said his client has consistently denied wrongdoing and has cooperated with investigators throughout the probe. He cautioned against rushing to judgment as the case moves through the courts.

“Allow the process to be ventilated in court so that there is a proper evaluation of the situation in a judicious way,” Champagnie told The Gleaner on Sunday. “We should not be given to all kinds of wild speculation and emotions. Allow the justice system to take its course.”

Background: Raids and arrests

The charges follow a major coordinated law-enforcement operation that unfolded early Saturday, with search-and-seizure raids carried out at four locations linked to the long-running SSL investigation — three in St Andrew and one in St James.

The operation involved a joint task force comprising the Financial Investigations Division (FID), the Constabulary Financial Unit (CFU), and the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC) of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, with support from the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA).

Authorities confirmed shortly after 5 a.m. that the searches were active and urged the public to avoid the operational areas to allow the exercise to proceed safely.

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During the operation, Croskery was seen leaving a St Andrew residence on Wickham Avenue with police officers, carrying a bag containing documents as investigators searched the property. He was later escorted into a police vehicle and taken away for questioning. At the time, both police officials and his attorney declined to comment.

Croskery has previously denied involvement in the alleged fraud. Following the emergence of the scandal in January 2023, he resigned as a director of SSL and its parent company, SSL Growth Barbados, saying the move was intended to demonstrate cooperation with ongoing investigations by the Financial Services Commission.

Scope of the alleged fraud

To date, the only person previously charged in the SSL matter was former employee Jean-Ann Panton, who faced multiple offences in February 2023. Later that year, the FID submitted a case file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, signalling the likelihood of further charges, though the DPP indicated that outstanding issues had delayed a full assessment.

Panton is set to stand trial on May 4, 2026. She was charged with breaches of the Larceny Act, the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), the Forgery Act and, the Cyber Crimes Act.

Investigators have said more than 200 client accounts were affected by the alleged fraud, with losses estimated to exceed US$30 million. Among the affected clients is Welljen Limited, a company owned by Jamaican sprint icon Usain Bolt, whose case brought international attention to the collapse of the firm.

In August of this year, Caydion Campbell, the court-confirmed trustee of SSL, said Bolt’s company was among roughly 40 clients set to receive payouts from the SSL Victims’ Compensation Fund.

At the time, Welljen’s attorney, Linton Gordon, welcomed the disbursement but emphasized it remains only a partial recovery. “Payments being made are just a fraction of what persons have lost, and it’s just the start,” he said, declining to disclose the specific amount Welljen will receive.