A man will now spend the next two years behind bars after he pleaded guilty to fraudulently converting $1.7 million, property of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs.
44-year-old Dorman Henry (no address provided) yesterday appeared at the Georgetown Magis-trate’s Court before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly who read the charge to him. The court heard that the defendant, on August 17th 2022 at about 12:45hrs, received $1.7 million in cash at Main Street, Georgetown, from the Toshao of Yarakita Village to purchase building materials for the purpose of constructing a hall at Yarakita Primary School.
After receiving the money, Henry went to the Sleepin Hotel and Carnival Casino where he gambled the said money over a three-day period. He later went to the Ruimveldt Police Station and made a report of an armed robbery committed against him. However, as investigators were about to commence their investigation into the alleged ‘robbery under arms’, Henry had a sudden change of heart and admitted that the ‘robbery under arms’ allegation was false. He was duly interrogated which revealed that he had lost the money through gambling.
Before being sentenced, Henry begged for his freedom and told the court that after receiving the money, he was encouraged by his chauffeur, named ‘Sonny’, to go to the casino where they would use the said money to gamble and later repay when they won. However, they lost the entire $1.7m after the three-day gambling spree. Henry told the court how sorry he was and was willing to make an agreement to repay the money if given time. Magistrate Daly, after listening to the defendant, sentenced Henry to two years imprisonment.
