(Trinidad Guardian) Five foreign used-car dealerships have been ordered to pay almost $24 million in compensation to ANSA Bank for their roles in a fraudulent loan conspiracy.
Delivering a judgment yesterday morning, High Court Judge Frank Seepersad granted default judgments to the bank against Ceylon Marketing, Joalex Auto, Miva Import Export Consultancy, Diamond Conceptions Company, and It’s A Deal.
Justice Seepersad ruled that the companies had failed to present sufficient defences to the cogent and comprehensive case of commercial fraud and misrepresentation that was presented against them by the bank.
He said, “These allegations required robust and compelling responses so as to convince the court that each defendant had a reasonable prospect that the claimant’s claims could be successfully defended.”
As part of his ruling, Justice Seepersad ordered the companies to pay the sums claimed by the bank less the loan payments they had made before the case was filed. The outcome of the bank’s preliminary application for summary judgments means that its case against six of its former employees, one of their wives, and another company will now continue to trial before Justice Seepersad.
In October last year, the bank filed an over $30 million lawsuit against former employees Randy Gottsleben, Dwayne Rojas, Zaria Sankar, Navinra Rambarran, Reyvaan Rampersad, Kerry Ramsaroop, Gottsleben’s wife Adriana Ramsingh, Arnold Ramjass Auto Mechanical & Painting Garage, and the five other companies.
The bank launched an investigation after its director, Larry Howai, received a letter from a whistleblower alleging misconduct and “disrespect for duty.” The initial investigation found that there were loan transactions not in accordance with company policy.
A wider investigation was done at the Chaguanas branch of the bank where the discrepancies were found and a conspiracy was uncovered. The bank sustained losses of almost $30 million in two-and-a-half years involving 35 vehicles and properties.
In the lawsuit, the bank is alleging that its former employees and the companies engaged in a conspiracy to present fraudulent documents and make fraudulent representations to secure loans. It alleges that its former employees breached the terms of their contract and conducted themselves in a manner that was likely to destroy or seriously damage the relationship of trust between themselves and the bank.
After the case was filed, Justice Seepersad granted the bank an order freezing the defendants’ assets pending the outcome of the case. The bank was represented by Ian Benjamin, SC, Marcelle Ferdinand, Bryan McCutcheon, and Candace Layers. The five companies were represented by Roland Bain.
