By Latrishka Thomas
An embattled pastor who appeared before the court last week on numerous fraud charges has found himself on the wrong side of law again.
He was remanded to His Majesty’s Prison yesterday having been slapped with another charge of fraudulent conversion.
Gavin Otto had received a date for his committal hearing just days ago for six different matters where he is alleged to have scammed people.
He was on bail for those offences but he lost his freedom after he appeared again yesterday before Chief Magistrate Joanne Walsh.
In one of the matters against the All Saints man, he is alleged to have taken $16,000 from a woman in exchange for two 40-foot storage containers in February 2021.
However, several months passed and she reportedly never received the containers.
In August that same year, she is said to have contacted the defendant who gave her a cheque that bounced.
Reports further state that the defendant acted surprised when he found out and then delivered only one of the containers that the woman had paid for.
It is also alleged that between July 4 and August 26 2022, the accused exchanged a number of cheques at the Bridge Service Station totalling over $20,000, but all of them were returned to the gas station owner due to insufficient funds on the defendant’s account.
According to reports, in October officers obtained a search warrant and when they went to the accused’s home, Otto was observed jumping a fence and running into bushes.
The police were reportedly able to apprehend him and a number of receipts and cheque stubs were apparently found in his house.
On July 13 last year, the accused convinced another individual to purchase building materials from him.
The 42-year-old reportedly only delivered $30,000 worth of materials, then said he needed money to clear the others.
He was allegedly paid $99,000 but never provided the materials, and when contacted by the complainant he is said to have given him a $69,000 cheque which bounced.
And the latest charge relates to an incident which allegedly took place in March 2023.
He took over $15,000 from a man in exchange for a 40-foot container, but never delivered the item.
Otto was arrested and charged just last week for that offence.
And with him racking up more charges he was not granted bail in the Magistrates Court.