Accused of evading police for over a year after allegedly fleecing a man of more than $1M as payment for a bike that was never delivered, Sayanand Persaud was yesterday placed on $350,000 bail after being arraigned on a fraud charge.
Persaud, 34, of Lot 1070 Section ‘A’ Block X, Dia-mond Housing Scheme, pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him by Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
It is the police’s case that between December 1, 2012 and January 31, 2013, Persaud obtained $1.1M from Paul Ramsarran by pretending that he was in the position to sell a motorbike, knowing that he was not.
According to Prosecutor Deneashwar Maindranauth, Persaud made the proposition of selling a motorbike to Ramsarran. An agreement was struck between the men and Ramsarran handed over the money to Persaud. However, the defendant never returned with the motorbike. A report was subsequently made.
Objections to bail were raised by Maindranauth, who stated that since the offence occurred in 2012, the defendant had been evading capture by the police. He added that the police had on several occasions gone to the man’s home in an attempt to bring him in. However, he said these attempts had been futile and indicated that the defendant might be a flight risk. The prosecutor also gave the seriousness of the offence as another reason for his refusal of bail.
In defence, Persaud’s lawyer Keavon Bess, who requested reasonable bail from Magistrate Azore, stated that his client had turned himself in and had not been brought in—an indication that he would not flee from the law. Bess also stated that no evidence of sale, such as a receipt or written agreement of sale, had been given by Ramsarran to substantiate his claims.
Persaud was given bail in the sum of $350,000 and is set to return to court on February 28.
