diff --git a/src/Java.Interop/Java.Interop/JniEnvironment.Types.cs b/src/Java.Interop/Java.Interop/JniEnvironment.Types.cs
index 1f29d21cd..0f6f4eac1 100644
--- a/src/Java.Interop/Java.Interop/JniEnvironment.Types.cs
+++ b/src/Java.Interop/Java.Interop/JniEnvironment.Types.cs
@@ -114,38 +114,33 @@ static unsafe bool TryLoadClassWithFallback (JniEnvironmentInfo info, IntPtr thr
 			{
 				result = default;
 
-				var findClassThrown     = new JniObjectReference (thrown, JniObjectReferenceType.Local);
-				LogCreateLocalRef (findClassThrown);
-				Exception? pendingException = info.Runtime.GetExceptionForThrowable (ref findClassThrown, JniObjectReferenceOptions.CopyAndDispose);
-
 				if (Class_forName.IsValid) {
 					var __args  = stackalloc JniArgumentValue [3];
 					__args [0]  = new JniArgumentValue (classNameJavaString);
 					__args [1]  = new JniArgumentValue (true);  // initialize the class
 					__args [2]  = new JniArgumentValue (info.Runtime.ClassLoader);
 
-					var c = RawCallStaticObjectMethodA (info.EnvironmentPointer, out thrown, Class_reference.Handle, Class_forName.ID, (IntPtr) __args);
-					if (thrown == IntPtr.Zero) {
-						(pendingException as IJavaPeerable)?.Dispose ();
+					var c = RawCallStaticObjectMethodA (info.EnvironmentPointer, out var forNameThrown, Class_reference.Handle, Class_forName.ID, (IntPtr) __args);
+					if (forNameThrown == IntPtr.Zero) {
+						// Class.forName() succeeded; discard the FindClass throwable.
+						JniEnvironment.References.RawDeleteLocalRef (info.EnvironmentPointer, thrown);
 						result = new JniObjectReference (c, JniObjectReferenceType.Local);
 						JniEnvironment.LogCreateLocalRef (result);
 						return true;
 					}
 					RawExceptionClear (info.EnvironmentPointer);
-
-					if (pendingException != null) {
-						JniEnvironment.References.RawDeleteLocalRef (info.EnvironmentPointer, thrown);
-					} else {
-						var loadClassThrown = new JniObjectReference (thrown, JniObjectReferenceType.Local);
-						LogCreateLocalRef (loadClassThrown);
-						pendingException = info.Runtime.GetExceptionForThrowable (ref loadClassThrown, JniObjectReferenceOptions.CopyAndDispose);
-					}
+					JniEnvironment.References.RawDeleteLocalRef (info.EnvironmentPointer, forNameThrown);
 				}
 
 				if (!throwOnError) {
-					(pendingException as IJavaPeerable)?.Dispose ();
+					JniEnvironment.References.RawDeleteLocalRef (info.EnvironmentPointer, thrown);
 					return false;
 				}
+
+				// Both FindClass and Class.forName() failed; materialize a managed exception to throw.
+				var findClassThrown     = new JniObjectReference (thrown, JniObjectReferenceType.Local);
+				LogCreateLocalRef (findClassThrown);
+				Exception? pendingException = info.Runtime.GetExceptionForThrowable (ref findClassThrown, JniObjectReferenceOptions.CopyAndDispose);
 				if (pendingException != null)
 					throw pendingException;
 
diff --git a/tests/Java.Interop-Tests/Java.Interop/JniTypeUtf8Test.cs b/tests/Java.Interop-Tests/Java.Interop/JniTypeUtf8Test.cs
index ca461f7b0..c5e0fc0d6 100644
--- a/tests/Java.Interop-Tests/Java.Interop/JniTypeUtf8Test.cs
+++ b/tests/Java.Interop-Tests/Java.Interop/JniTypeUtf8Test.cs
@@ -90,6 +90,26 @@ public void TryFindClass_Utf8 ()
 			Assert.IsFalse (notFound.IsValid);
 		}
 
+		[Test]
+		public void TryFindClass_Utf8_DoesNotLeakGlobalRefs ()
+		{
+			int grefsBefore = JniEnvironment.Runtime.GlobalReferenceCount;
+			JniEnvironment.Types.TryFindClass ("does/not/Exist"u8, out _);
+			int grefsAfter = JniEnvironment.Runtime.GlobalReferenceCount;
+			Assert.AreEqual (grefsBefore, grefsAfter,
+				"TryFindClass for non-existent classes should not leak global references");
+		}
+
+		[Test]
+		public void TryFindClass_String_DoesNotLeakGlobalRefs ()
+		{
+			int grefsBefore = JniEnvironment.Runtime.GlobalReferenceCount;
+			JniEnvironment.Types.TryFindClass ("does/not/Exist", out _);
+			int grefsAfter = JniEnvironment.Runtime.GlobalReferenceCount;
+			Assert.AreEqual (grefsBefore, grefsAfter,
+				"TryFindClass for non-existent classes should not leak global references");
+		}
+
 		[Test]
 		public void GetMethodID_Utf8_MatchesStringOverload ()
 		{