Mavado Has To Join A Long Line Of Creditors To Recover Money From Bankrupt Messado

Dancehall artist Mavado will have to join the long list of creditors who have made claims against the estate of disbarred attorney-at-law Jennifer Messado, who declared herself bankrupt last week.

“She has her certificate of bankruptcy from the Office of the Trustee in bankruptcy, it’s just like when you have a receivership. This move now gives Messado breathing space, an opportunity to regularise her assets and distribute them in a fair way so that one person is not enriched at the expense of other creditors. The debts will be now be paid in a fair and equitable manner,” attorney-at-law Christopher Townsend told DancehallMag.

The Office of the Trustee in Bankruptcy & Insolvency (OTB) is under the portfolio of The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF). When a person is declared bankrupt, a notice is also placed in one of the daily newspapers to announce this new state of affairs.

Dancehall star Mavado cut a frustrated figure on social media over the weekend as he called out Messado, dubbing her an “old criminal”, even intimating that she continues to avoid a custodial jail sentence merely because she is a professional who hails from the upper class.

However, this neat bit of legal ninjutsu by Messado may actually work in Mavado’s favor as he pushes for the repayment of the 23 million that is still owed to him.

“This now means that all bankrupt proceedings against her are stayed and creditors can make a claim against her estate. All civil proceedings are stayed, but criminal proceedings are not affected. This is in fact better for every creditor, because when you have someone appointed as a trustee, if a property is sold, every creditor will get a piece of money. No one person walks away with the bulk of that sale, as Messado is no longer in charge of her affairs, it is the hands of her trustee,” Townsend explained.

A bankruptcy declaration stops most collection actions, including telephone calls, wage garnishments, and lawsuits (with some exceptions). It also eliminates many types of debt, including credit card balances, medical bills, personal loans, and more.

But it doesn’t stop all creditors, and it doesn’t wipe out all obligations.

Last week, Mavado, whose real name is David Brooks, had been hit by news that Messado filed for bankruptcy last week, subverting his attempt to reclaim all of the $30 million that she allegedly defrauded him more than three years ago.

He tagged the Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, and the Jamaica Constabulary Force, as he ranted about the quality of the Jamaican justice system and hinted at bias and preferential treatment given to members of the upper class who avoid justice because of prestige.

Mavado complained: “This is Jamaica’s legal scammers that the government can not do nothing about all because she’s (Messado) not from the ghetto … a things like This a mash up the country because it makes you wonder how much ppl may be not around because of her doings, and her powerful power that she have exercised a lot.”

However, Mavado’s assertion that she continues to avoid jail is not entirely correct. Last year, the disbarred real estate attorney, who is facing a battery of fraud charges, spent a week behind bars for breaching a civil court order. The court had sanctioned her for six weeks’ imprisonment.

In that matter, Messado allegedly breached the civil court order and was sentenced in the civil matter and later released.

“…the money was removed and a complaint was made …the money was put back in the account and she was released,” Townsend told the media at the time.

Justice Kissock Laing had made an order that Messado does not remove money from a particular account. Messado was sentenced on September 16, 2020, after a complainant pointed to a breach of the Supreme Court order.