Bryan had managed to fool staff at Foster’s who had trusted him and defrauded them of sums of money by presenting invoices for large quantities of rolls, buns and bread loaves that were never delivered. Bryan was also found guilty of forging Mr Bush’s signature to obtain a loan from the Cayman Islands Development Bank (CIDB).

Justice Charles Quin, in delivering his ‘guilty’ verdict said the Defendant had manipulated the system at Foster’s Food Fair Supermarket and breached the trust of the staff there, who had failed to check the deliveries against invoice because they had believed him “and unwittingly processed and paid the invoices. Bryan had managed to develop such a high level of trust with the people at the store that he was in a position to alter the invoices even after they had been signed off and deliver the inflated amounts to the accounts office himself.”

Although Bernie Bush had described himself as “a silent partner” leaving Bryan to run the business, his wife was the bakery bookkeeper, who had also been duped by Bryan as he made off with the profit he was making from Foster’s swindle into his own accounts. At the trial it was shown that the cash received by Cayman Bakery was a fraction of the money Foster’s had paid to them.

From August 2006 until May 2008 Bryan falsified his average invoices by nearly ten times over what they should have been. The fraud was uncovered during a random check by a Foster’s Airport Store manager when he discovered an invoice for bread for over $5,000. Such a large quantity would not even have been able to hold in the bakery shelve space allocation at the shop, making it apparent something was wrong.

Foster’s instigated a full scale internal enquiry and found that it had paid $395,000 for bread loaves, rolls and buns that should have cost the store no more than $56,000. Judge Quin said on Easter buns alone Bryan had swindled Foster’s of $120,000.

In the charge of forging Mr Bush’s signature it was found Bryan had persuaded a local justice of the peace to witness the signature of his and his business partner (Bush) on a loan application form, despite the fact that Bush was not even present. Bush’s signature had been forged by Bryan. The court heard that Bryan had told the JP the $27,000 loan was urgent as it was for an industrial generator that the bakery needed for the coming hurricane season.

When the CIDB called Mr Bush to tell him his $27,000 cheque was ready Mr Bush had no knowledge of it and raised the alarm.

The name of the JP in the case has not been named.