Joey Ebanks joins board of prison support group

| 31/01/2018 | 22 Comments
Cayman News Service

Joey Ebanks

(CNS): The former director of the Cayman Turtle Farm and the Electricity Regulatory Authority, who was convicted in 2014 of fraud after he stole tens of thousands of dollars from the public purse to feed his cocaine addiction, has been appointed to a board that helps other prisoners and their families. Joey Ebanks was released from jail in 2015 after serving part of his term of two years and three months and has been rebuilding his life in the community. But he has remained connected to the prison and has now joined Prison Fellowship Cayman Islands (PFCI) as an executive director.

Officials from the spiritual organisation said that Ebanks had been appointed to help strengthen its current programmes and develop further initiatives to serve those affected by crime in the Cayman community.

“Joey has a real heart for inmates and their families,” said Pastor Alson Ebanks, who is the PFCI
Board Chairman. “He understands their needs from the perspective of his own real life experiences. And he also knows that it requires a multifaceted approach to adequately address all these needs — practical as well as spiritual.”

Ebanks had a controversial history even before his conviction over the theft of around $140,000 from the ERA when he was its managing director. During his tenure as boss of the Cayman Turtle Farm, as it was known then, an audit revealed that he had taken salary advances and run up significant bar tabs at the financially strapped facility.

Then, while running on the PPM ticket in 2013 in his second attempt at getting elected to office for the North Side seat, he was accused of buying votes with turtle meat, among other infractions.

Ebanks also had a stint as a talk show host before he managed to secure the top position at the power regulator and his criminal behavior caught up with him.

Since leaving jail, Ebanks has taken a low profile in the community, teaching Sunday school and working with his local church and at the prison, and he has been working for a local internet and TV provider.

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Comments (22)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Seeing is believing, I attend the same church that Joey goes to and i’m seeing a positive transformation in his life. He’s growing spiritually, he’s leading others to Christ and he’s volunteering in ministries. His position at the prison is his way of giving back to the community. He served the jail sentence for his crime and he’s publically asked for forgiveness. I think it’s time that people stop focusing on the “negative” of his past and support the positive actions that he’s displaying now?

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  2. Anonymous says:

    The prisoners will be happy to have someone help feed their cocaine habit.
    I would not trust him to guard my chicken coop.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    Sounds like an April fool’s joke in February.

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  4. Anonymous says:

    Proud of you Joey keep doing the Lord’s work. Just as you found Jesus in that situation, I hope you are able to reach others in the prison and let them know that God has compassion and mercy for all of them and everyone can be saved by simply believing in Jesus Christ and accepting him as their saviour.

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  5. Anonymous says:

    Cayman’s Nixon
    He might as well have said the infamous words “I’m not a crook”

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  6. Anonymous says:

    This has GOT to be an early April Fool’s joke, CNS…

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  7. Anonymous says:

    He can buy them all an iPad. Still would have been better than Ezzard.

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  8. Anonymous says:

    Let him who is without sin cast the first stone. Redemption and rehabilitation are an important part of the lives of most Caymanian who have a conviction. If no Caymanian gets the chance to show that they are rehabilitated then foreigners are going to continue to come here and get the best jobs. Show a little Cayman Kind

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    • Yup says:

      Lol. People like you are the problem!!! If this is what you got out of the article, you are far gone. This has nothing to do with foreigners, but everything to do with a CON man. I truly hope that Joey is not trying to CON the people of the Cayman Islands again with his new “I found Jesus moment”, but if I was a betting man…

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    • Anonymous says:

      I may not be “without sin” (as a sins are arbitrary creations of the human writers of your religious text) but I sure as hell do not have a conviction in regard to embezzling to support my drug habit all the while using connections to get on the radio declaring my innocence and putting myself forward as a Candidate to represent the people of the Cayman Islands
      (Insert Eminem’s “Not Afraid”,) In fact I have no convictions whatsoever and even if I did this man is not above criticism

      This whole mindset of “let the innocent cast the first stone” is Grade A bullshit
      There is a difference between allowing someone to move on with their lives and pretending their past doesn’t exist, he has according to the courts done the appropriate sentence for his actions in jail but that does not mean that he is absolved of his past

      And please explain to me what the hell this has to do with “foreigners are going to continue to come here and get the best jobs”
      This man STOLE from his place of employment to facilitate his own vices, businesses would be forgiven for not trusting him to be in positions of authority and being in charge of their resources

      Just as we see with so many other criminals they join up with church groups for protection from condemnation because they know it is their best shot for normalcy, if you want to buy this act then you go ahead but don’t expect the public to go along with it

      and Of course the “Cayman Kind” bullshit I hope you’ll be the first in line to show Errington Webster a little “Cayman Kind” too, another candidate who ran in 2013 and just like Joey here did previously he finds himself in a cell at HM Prison
      Bet you’ll be singing a different tune about “rehabilitation” then

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  9. Anonymous says:

    Cayman really does have the cream of the crop running for the LA

    Child molesters and persons accused of sexual assault
    Thieves, embezzlers and coke heads
    and don’t forget actual drug dealers too

    people don’t even blink as long as you get up on stage and proclaim how great God is

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  10. Anonymous says:

    Wishing you all the best Mr Joey!
    By the way, if you read this…thanks for coming to our aid a few nights ago when our truck shut out at the intersection. God bless you, I wish I had my purse on me, I would have covered your dinner.

    Keep your head up, let them know you have a purpose.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Yep, use religion to get back into the good graces of the Cayman Islands public, classic move
    Shield yourself by using the established religion even after abusing his power and position for his own gain

    All you have to say in Cayman is “I found God” or “My faith this or my faith that”

    Clowns

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  12. Anonymous says:

    As long as there is no money management involved, because cocaine or not, Joey is thief, through and through.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Spot on 5.52, a convicted thief at that. Now please hide the cash pan. This man lost me when he took his family (including innocent kids) on his radio show to defend what he knew were lies while attacking decent people for doing their jobs in exposing the lies.

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