KINGSTON, Jamaica — A long-running probe into suspected financial misconduct tied to student tuition and fee payments at one of Jamaica’s leading tertiary education institutions has culminated in the arrest and criminal charging of a current employee, law enforcement officials confirmed this week.
Kevan Anthony Panton, who holds a dual role as accounting officer and customer service officer at the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU), faces a total of 84 criminal counts. The charges include 14 counts each of embezzlement, transactions involving criminal proceeds, possession of illegally obtained property, facilitation of criminal property transactions, falsification of institutional financial records, and conspiracy to defraud the university.
The case traces its origins back to November 2024, when routine financial checks during an unexpected university system downtime uncovered the first red flags. While conducting a mandatory reconciliation cross-checking daily cashier closing reports against official bank deposit records, auditing teams found that $970,000 in collected funds had not been deposited to the university’s accounts as required. While Panton ultimately deposited the missing sum months later, investigators confirmed the transaction timeline and processes deviated sharply from CMU’s official cash handling protocols, triggering further scrutiny.
Additional major discrepancies came to light in January 2026, when a cohort of students presented manual payment receipts for examination fees that did not appear anywhere in CMU’s centralized financial records. This discovery prompted a full, formal review of the university’s manual receipt issuance, banking protocols, and accounts receivable recording processes, led by Jamaica’s Financial Investigations Division (FID).
During the probe, investigators confirmed that pre-numbered receipt book sequences had been intentionally altered, and multiple full receipt books could not be located for auditing. A full audit of documented manual payments found that $1,702,000 in total student payments collected by Panton were never recorded or deposited to CMU. To date, only $552,500 of that unaccounted sum has been returned or deposited, leaving an outstanding deficit of more than $1.149 million, per FID’s official findings.
Following the discovery of the discrepancies, Panton and a second CMU employee were suspended from their roles in January 2026, after which CMU’s leadership submitted a formal report to the FID to launch a full criminal investigation. Following his arrest on Wednesday, Panton was granted bail set at $700,000, and his first court appearance is scheduled for July 6, 2026 at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court.
Keith Darien, the FID’s Principal Director of Financial Crimes Investigations, noted in an official statement that the case underscores a systemic need for public educational institutions to strengthen internal financial safeguards and enforce immediate reporting of suspected misconduct. “This case highlights why institutions must maintain robust systems for cash handling, receipting, reconciliation and oversight. Where funds are collected on behalf of an institution, there must be clear accountability at every stage,” Darien explained.
He added that the FID will continue to collaborate closely with local law enforcement agencies and institutional partners to root out financial crime, ensuring that all well-documented cases of suspected misconduct are brought before the judicial system for resolution.