A pardoned fraud convict was on Friday released on a total of $3 million bail after she was faced with new charges of fraud and forgery.
47-year-old Khemawattie Ramnauth, of Lot 51 Public Road, Grove East Bank Demerara, appeared before Magistrate Dylon Bess at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, where the new charges were read.
The first charge states that between February 20, 2020, and August 24, 2020, she obtained the sum of $6,500,000 from Brian Perreira by falsely pretending her name was Latchmin Shiwmangal, the registered owner of a property and that she was in the position to sell same to him, knowing same to be false. It is also alleged that between February 20, 2020, and October 5, 2021, with intent to defraud, she forged a United States of America passport #454099867 in the name Shirley Shiwmangal with a picture bearing her likeness, purporting to show that same was issued by the United States Department of State, knowing same to be forged.
The court heard that the woman informed Perreira that she was in the position to make the sale. However, he later discovered that she was not the person she claimed to be. He had already made the payment. As a result, he went to the police and reported the matter. She was then arrested.
Ramnauth pleaded not guilty to both charges and was released on $2 million bail on the fraud charge and $1 million bail on the forgery charge. She will make her next appearance at court on a later date in October.
The police informed the court that the woman is known to them due to her previous fraud charges. She had been convicted in 2015 and later pardoned in 2017 by then President David Granger for the country’s 47th Republic anniversary. It had been noted that the pardoned prisoners had served a majority of their sentences.
