Andrew Wright, the well-known party promoter behind the popular events Chug It and French Connection, has now made headlines for a very different reason — he is among three men found guilty in a massive J$222 million fraud case at the state-owned Institute of Sports (INSPORTS). Wright, along with former INSPORTS employees Rudolph Barnes and Oneil Hope, was convicted on September 30, 2025, following years of court proceedings that exposed one of the largest fraud scandals in the entity’s history. The trio, who prosecutors said orchestrated a scheme of writing, signing, and cashing fraudulent cheques for non-existent workers, were each convicted on multiple counts — Wright on 13, Barnes on 11, and Hope on eight. They are set to be sentenced on November 21.
The case has cast a long shadow over Wright’s once-flourishing reputation in Jamaica’s entertainment scene. Known for pulling crowds to his high-profile events, Wright was also a financial controller at INSPORTS during the period of the fraud, which spanned 2011 to 2017. The alleged irregularities first surfaced in 2017 when a review of INSPORTS’ financial records flagged millions in unauthorised disbursements. What began as whispers of misconduct evolved into a full-fledged investigation led by the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA), eventually ensnaring Wright and several of his former colleagues.
The road to conviction was anything but straightforward. Back in July 2023, Wright was granted bail in the sum of J$10 million after his then attorneys, including King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie, argued that with his accounts frozen, he posed little threat to the ongoing investigation. Champagnie also sought to highlight what he described as Wright’s limited capacity to interfere with the case, given the strict reporting conditions imposed by the Home Circuit Court. At the time, Wright maintained his innocence, insisting that he was being unfairly targeted in a scandal that shook one of Jamaica’s oldest sporting institutions.
Despite those assurances, the court has now ruled otherwise. Wright’s conviction marks the downfall of a businessman who once balanced his dual identities as a finance executive and entertainment mogul. With sentencing looming, questions remain about the full scope of accountability, especially since two women implicated in the case were acquitted and another remains at large.
