A former policeman gave evidence in the trial yesterday of a couple charged with stealing $300,000 from elderly clients.

Jeffrey Blair, now a corporate lawyer, was a a financial crimes investigator at the time of the alleged thefts by Jaymo Durham, 52, and Keiva Maronie Durham, 44, and officially cautioned them in their home.

The Durhams are charged with stealing more than $300,000 from four elderly clients and making and using false statements between February 23, 2012 and July 31, 2019. Both deny the charges.

The four alleged victims, clients of Ageing and Disability Services, are Doreen Stevens, Nancy Locke, and Muriel and Loretta Smith.

Mrs Durham was a lawyer and Mr Durham is a former attorney and also a reverend. They are representing themselves in the Supreme Court case.

Prosecutor Daniel Kitson-Walters, for the Crown, asked Mr Blair about his time in the Bermuda Police Service and how he became involved in the investigation into the Durhams’ financial affairs.

He replied that he was a serving police officer but left in September 2023 to become a corporate lawyer.

Mr Blair added how during his police days he was part of the special investigations financial crime unit.

He said: “We investigate financial crimes that take the form of theft, fraud and money laundering, plus corruption.”

Asked to explain his role in the financial probe into the Durhams, Mr Blair replied: “I do recall receiving information from the financial intelligence agency to initiate the investigation.”

Following work into the couple’s bank statements and residents’ accounts, police visited the Durhams at home on February 1, 2021.

Mr Kitson-Walters asked the witness to recall the day, and he responded: “At 6.45am on February 1, 2021 myself and [Detective Constable] Patrick Brock attended the residence of Mrs Durham and we cautioned them

“Mr and Mrs Durham were subsequently interviewed, separately, at Hamilton Police Station.

“They were recorded on audio and visually and these interviews were transferred on to DVDs.”

Yesterday afternoon, the jury studied more than an hour of the interview of Mrs Durham.

The footage showed that both officers put to her a number of questions regarding the transactions in and out of their accounts plus those of the alleged victims.

However, Mrs Durham gave largely “no comment” responses to numerous questions on various transactions.

The trial, before Puisne Judge Juan Wolffe, continues.

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