An Enterprise man was yesterday remanded to prison after being accused of defrauding a man of close to $5 million.
Neil Benjamin, 51, of Lot ‘C’ Enterprise, was arraigned before Magistrate Fabayo Azore in a city court, which heard that he allegedly received $4,858,000 from Erick Jones after allegedly asserting that he had work contracts with Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL), Gafoor’s, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and HBTV Channel 9. The magistrate entered a not guilty plea to each charge after Benjamin offered a plea of “guilty with explanation.” It is alleged that from January 25, 2012 to June 21, 2013, he received $1,498,000 from Jones after reportedly claiming he had contracts with Gafoor’s.
It is also alleged that between December 30, 2013 and January 30, 2014, Benjamin received $1.5 million from Jones after allegedly claiming contract work with GPL. From August 30, 2013 to November 26, 2013, it is alleged, Benjamin acquired $1.31 million by purporting to have contracts with the GGMC.
In addition, between March 20, 2014 and November 28, 2014, he is alleged to have further received $550,000 from Jones after reportedly claiming to have a contract with HBTV.
Benjamin, however, insisted that he never asserted to have contracts with each company; rather, he stated that he was pursuing contractual work and then received the money. The defendant also maintained that he did not have an arrangement with Jones. He stated that part of the money was his own and Jones only signed a promissory note to pay after hearing of the defendant’s pursuance of contracts. In light of Benjamin having been convicted on similar fraud charges, the police prosecutor objected to bail. The defendant was subsequently remanded to prison until the next hearing, which is fixed for July 22.
