A Swiss House Cambio cashier was on Monday remanded to prison by Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson for reportedly fraudulently converting monies to his own use and benefit.
Patrick Pompey, 58, of J21 965 Critchlow Street, Tucville pleaded not guilty to three counts of the charge. It was alleged that on January 26 at Georgetown being solely entrusted with $2M to sell foreign currency by Mohamed Hanif Bacchus he converted it to his own use and benefit.
Pompey on the same day and place being solely entrusted with US$5,000 to convert to $1M Guyana currency by Ramsingh Ramkumar and being solely entrusted with $140,000 to purchase US$700 for Hamed Bacchus allegedly converted the money to his own use and benefit.
Pompey told the court that Ramkumar and Hamed Bacchus had loaned him the money and he was paying them, sometimes twice daily, with interest. However, he said he ended up taking the money his employer, Mohamed Bacchus, usually entrusted to him to cover his debts.
He asked the magistrate to grant him bail and assured her that he would repay the loan since he was working around the same area as the men and did not have a passport and would not flee the country.
But Hamed Bacchus told the court that he would settle only if Pompey was prepared to repay him in court while Ramkumar said that he would accept payment even if it is little by little. And Mohamed Bacchus told the court that it was the first time that Pompey had taken his money and converted it to his own use. He said that he would usually leave him with such sums of money.
Police Prosecutor Inspector Stephen Telford’s application for bail to be denied was granted and Pompey is to return to court on February 8.