WESTERN BUREAU:

Britanny Lawson, the Montego Freezone employee accused of stealing US$36,500 (J$3.18 million) from her employer, will return to court in August as the prosecution's case file is still incomplete.

Lawson, from Cornwall Courts, Montego Bay, pleaded not guilty to fraud in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court on Thursday.

The prosecution admitted that it is awaiting phone records from Digicel to add to its case file against Lawson. Lawson's $300,000 bail was extended until August 7.

Allegations are that between December 12, 2011 and January 4, 2012, Lawson used a company password to make 14 wire transfers from her employer's account without authorisation. The sum transferred amounted to US$36,500.

On January 4, the discrepancies were discovered and reported to the police, and subsequent investigations led to Lawson being arrested and charged with larceny as a servant on January 10.