A repeat offender was yesterday sentenced to a total of seven and a half years in jail after he admitted to obtaining money from five different women by pretending he would offer them jobs.
Georgetown Magistrate Judy Latchman handed down the sentences to Troy Webster, 37, after he pleaded guilty to five counts of obtaining money by false pretence. Magistrate Latchman sentences Webster to 18 months in jail for each of the five counts, with the sentenced to run consecutively.
Webster was charged with collecting $6,000 from Nakesha Haynes on August 18, at Georgetown, by falsely pretending that he could offer her a job. He was also charged with collecting $7,000 each from Tamara Somerset, Aneesa Jones, Orissa Williams, and Kenisha Boyce, on the same pretext, between August 17 and August 21.
Police Prosecutor Shawn Gonsalves said the victims were contacted by Haynes, who told them that she knew someone who was hiring sales girls to work at his stalls at the Giftland Mall and at Parika. Haynes gave the victims Webster’s number and they later made contact with him and arranged to meet.
Gonsalves said the accused told the women that he had several stalls at the Giftland Mall and at Parika and got them to hand over money and copies of their IDs, while promising that that he would make contact with them about when they would start working. However, he did not do so.
As a result, Gonsalves added, the women made several reports at the Brickdam Police Station and Webster was subsequently arrested. Further investigations were carried out and it was discovered that he was not the owner of any stall at the Giftland Mall or at Parika.
Gonsalves also told the court that Webster was convicted in 2014 on a similar charge of fraud by way of false pretence and he was sentenced to three years in jail. Webster was also fined previously for similar charges.
In handing down the sentences, Magistrate Latchman told Webster that he obviously had not learnt his lesson based on the fact that he was previously convicted for the same crime. She also said his sentence would serve as a deterrent to others who might seek to commit similar crimes.
