BAHAMAS – A woman accused of forging scores of COVID-19 test results was on Monday remanded to prison.
Laderia Russell, 35, of Grantanna Subdivision, off Cowpen Road, appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt after police charged her with 80 counts of forgery and 80 counts of possession of a forged document in relation to the matter.
However, due to the court’s busy calendar, Ferguson-Pratt was only able to arraign Russell on 40 counts of possession of a forged document.
According to those counts, between November 25, 2020 and March 20, 2021, Russell had Doctors Hospital health systems negative COVID-19 RT-PCR tests in the names of other people.
She pleaded not guilty.
Russell, who is represented by Ian Cargill and Wendawn Miller-Frazer, returns to court today at 11 a.m. for the continuation of her arraignment, which is expected to last several days.
Police said Russell’s arrest comes following the proliferation of fake negative RT-PCR test results. A recent negative test result is required for travel. Since March 2021, police have intercepted multiple fraudulent tests at Lynden Pindling International Airport.
