A man accused of taking money from the accounts of persons he offered to help at the ATM, appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court on Thursday.

Joseph Grant, a 23-year-old clerical assistant of a Kingston 5 address, is charged with simple larceny. The allegations against Grant are that on December 22, 2006, the complainant went to the NCB ATM along Washington Boulevard to make a withdrawal. The accused was at the machine at the same time and reportedly told the complainant that the machine was not working properly. He also reportedly offered to assist the complainant.

While he was 'assisting' the complainant, it is alleged that Grant withdrew $30,000 from the complainant's account without his knowledge and then rushed off. The complainant discovered that the money was missing and reported the matter to his bank and to the Fraud Squad. The accused was held and charged.

When Grant appeared before RM Judith Pusey , it was revealed that investigation so far have suggested that Grant stole over $250,000 from various complainants in the same fashion. A representative from NCB also told the court that there were "dozens" of complainants against Grant, that he was a frequent flyer and that he had been convicted and jailed on similar charges before.

Grant was denied bail and remanded until February 12 when the case will be mentioned again.