A St. Catherine based minister of religion, who illegally collected more than $30,000 from another pastor to get divorce papers, was fined $100,000 or 12 months in prison, when he appeared in court on Friday.

The pastor Vernon Gayle of McCooks Pen district in St. Catherine was found guilty of two counts of obtaining money by means of false pretense.

When the matter came before Parish Judge Monique Harrison, the clergyman was ordered to pay $50,000 or serve six months in prison for each count.

The fines were handed down following arguments from defense attorney Sheldon Campbell, who begged for leniency for his client.

Gayle’s appearance arose from an incident wherein he reportedly collected $38,000 from the complainant to get a divorce for him.

In 2016, the man who had remarried, was arrested and charged by the Fraud Squad with forgery, uttering forged documents and bigamy, after it was revealed that the documents were fictitious.

An investigation was launched and Vernon Gayle, who provided the documents, was arrested and charged by the St. Catherine South police.