Two men were yesterday charged with defrauding another man of $1.7M and falsely promising to get visas for him and family.
Andrew Wilson was remanded to prison while Conrad Wright was put on $2,060,000 bail for the charges, comprising two counts of fraud and one count of assault.
It is alleged that Wilson and Wright, between January 11 and 13, at Georgetown, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of $1.7M from Hamid Parag.
The men allegedly pretended that they were in a position to secure US visas for him and his family. Also, it is alleged that the jointly charged pair on January 13 allegedly unlawfully assaulted Parag.
Wright, 51, of 13 Friendship, East Bank Demerara, and Wilson, 52, who resides at Section B, Block X, Diamond Housing Scheme, denied the charges when they were arraigned before acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Sergeant Lionel Harvey, prosecuting, said that during the period mentioned the two accused, who are known to each other, approached the Parag and told him that they could secure visas for him and his family.
Harvey said that the men told the complainant that they were employed at the US Embassy and requested $1.7M for the acquisition of the travel documents.
Subsequent to being given the sum requested, the court was told that another request was made by the duo for an additional $1.7M.
By this time, Harvey related, the defendants had produced two of the five passports which had visas affixed in them.
According to the prosecution, Parag was unable to accumulate the full amount for the other visas, but the accused kept demanding the additional sum.
The court then heard that it was at this point Parag became suspicious and realised that something was amiss and decided to make a police report.
The lawmen then set up a sting operation which led to the arrest of the two.
Harvey explained that in the sting operation, the police instructed the complainant to meet with the accused. During this meeting, the police later approached the car in which both the accused and Parag were seated.
Harvey said that it was upon seeing the police approaching that the defendants pushed the Parag out of the vehicle as they attempted to drive off, thus assaulting him.
Wilson and Wright were, however, apprehended by the lawmen and after investigations were arrested and charged.
In the Chief Magistrate’s court, the prosecution made a successful application for the accused to be denied their pre-trial liberty, noting that Wright has other pending matters before the courts. It advanced also the seriousness and prevalence of the offence and asked the court to take into consideration the quantum of money involved in the allegations.
Attorney Mohamed Zafar who represented Wright, a car dealer, was unsuccessful in securing his client’s pre-trial liberty. Zafar advanced that his client posed no risk of flight and has a fixed address.
He argued too that from the charges, it seems to suggest that the complainant himself is involved in some sort of “illegal activity.”
The case was later transferred to Magistrate Judy Latchman, who granted Wright $2M bail on the fraud charges and $60,000 bail on the assault charge.
Wilson, who was unrepresented by counsel, was remanded.
The case is to be called again on January 30.
