Luknauth Chan, 28, called ‘Prack’ of Montrose, East Coast Demerara, pleaded not guilty to the charge of fraudulent conversion when he appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magis-trates’ Court.
He denied that on May 9 last year at Happy Acres, East Coast Demerara, being entrusted with $3M by Nerissa Thornhill, to purchase a quantity of seafood and deliver to her, he fraudulently converted the money to his own use and benefit.
His lawyer Vic Puran applied for reasonable bail for him on the grounds that he posed no risk of flight. He stated that Thornhill had reported the incident some time last year at the police station but that she never followed up on the matter. He said that his client was never contacted by the police.
Puran noted that Chan currently has a matter of a similar nature in another court but stressed that his client had been involved in a “pure contract” on that occasion. Chan’s trial for that charge began yesterday in Court Three. In that case he is accused of converting to his own use $3.3M that he had received from Barbados-based Guyanese Lennox Narine to ship a quantity of seafood to Barbados for him.
Puran contended that Thornhill had loaned his client the money. Prosecutor Stephen Telford made no objections to the bail application and the case was later transferred to Court Three for April 30.
