Yuri Garcia Dominguez and Ateeka Ishmael, the principals of Accelerated Capital Firm Inc (ACFI), were yesterday faced with two new charges, including operated a pyramid scheme.
The charges were read to the couple when they appeared before Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Vigi-lance Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning.
They were charged under the Consumers Affairs Act with operating a pyramid scheme, and under the Securities Act with operating without a licence.
Both Dominguez and Ishmael pleaded not guilty to the joint charges and the proceedings were adjourn-ed until November 2nd.
The attorney for the couple, Dexter Todd, told Stabroek News yesterday that the charges were filed by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU).
Just two days ago, officials from SOCU raided a property belonging to the couple at Coldingen, East Coast Demerara (ECD), during which equipment containing records of their clients were seized. This has caused a halt in the repayment to clients which commenced just days ago.
Todd had previously told Stabroek News that during the raid, several items, including computers and cellular phones, were seized. “They took all their computers, they took all their phones, they took some documents, birth certificates, marriage certificate, the children’s laptop which they were doing their schooling, everything they took,” he said.
However, no money was recovered.
The raid was conducted just two days after the company began a repayment process which was expected to see its 17,000 clients eventually receiving their invested capital. On Monday when the repayment commenced, 27 persons were said to have received their invested capital.
However, the exercise, which was scheduled to continue this week, has since been suspended.
At a recent press conference, Dominguez announc-ed plans to commence repayment from October 12th of the invested capital to all of the 17,000 clients. He had said this is being done since the firm is not licensed to operate here and has been forced to cease all of its operations.
Almost two months ago, the police had arrested the couple after they had launched an investigation into what is being described as a huge Ponzi scheme.
The Guyana Police Force has said that Dominguez, 34, a naturalised Guyanese of Cuban origin, and his wife, Ishmael, 32, both of Track A, Coldingen, East Coast Demerara, were detained as part of an ongoing investigation of alleged fraud.
To date, the principals are facing close to 80 charges of conspiring with other persons to obtain monies by false pretense. They were released on bail totalling approximately $30 million.
Todd had related that the raid means that SOCU has now intensified the investigation.
As a result, he said that the repayment of the capital investment has been automatically halted since his clients did not have any instrument which they can use to continue this process.
“…By that I mean, they don’t know their laptops or their phones which would afford them the code numbers for the coins, the serial numbers in which they can do the transfer. It doesn’t afford them an opportunity to do any sort of reconciliation, so they don’t know who the names of their investors, they don’t know how to get in contact with them, they don’t know what amount they have invested. So really and truly they have halted all efforts made to repay people their capital investment,” Todd explained.
