Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle on Monday remanded a 37-year-old man who allegedly obtained a quantity of cash by false pretence when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
Patrick Anthony Benton of 3457 Jacksonville, North Ruimveldt pleaded not guilty to four charges of obtaining money by false pretence and one charge of obtaining property by virtue of a false instrument.
It is alleged that on June 23, July 24, August 12 and August 15 Benton obtained the sum of $201,000, $11,000, $15,000 and $17,000 by false pretence from Sean Granderson, Veronica Lashly, Hubert Sookhai and David Kingston, respectively.
Further, it is alleged that on May 31 with intent to defraud the accused obtained a chair set worth $29,000 from Ramroop’s Furniture Store by presenting a forged Scotia Bank cheque #0650.
While the magistrate was reading the charges to him Benton repeatedly said, “I didn’t intend to fraud anyone.”
Sookhai told the court that the accused obtained the money from him by pretending to be a police officer who worked with the President and drove the “crown car”.
He further said that many people from Ann’s Grove knew the accused as that police officer.
However, Benton denied that he and Sookhai had any conversation about him obtaining a driver’s licence for the man. Benton said all he did was promise the man that he would talk to someone he knew who would be able to help.
Benton allegedly took the money from Sookhai by promising to obtain a valid driver’s licence for him.
In the case of Granderson, the accused allegedly promised the man to obtain a valid firearm licence for him. Lashly and Kingston were deceived under similar circumstances.
The prosecution made no objection to bail, stating that the virtual complainants should have done the right thing and go through the legal processes to obtain the documents they wanted.
However, Magistrate Robertson-Ogle refused the man bail. The matter was transferred to Court Two and is to continue on September 24.
