$80M house lot scam… Property owner claims death threats from alleged ringleader

Sep 06, 2012 News

The owner of a property that was used by a gang to carry out their illegal activities, which saw dozens of persons falling prey to a house lot scam, claims he is now receiving death threats from the alleged ringleader of the gang.
The man said ever since the news broke about the scam and having realised that his property was being used he changed the locks on his property and secured it.
The man who asked not to be identified told this publication that he began receiving threatening phone calls from the male individual whom he rented his property to.
“The man keeps calling from (number provided) and telling me I must open up the place, because if I don’t, he can put up one million dollars and get me killed.
I told him that he got up to today (yesterday) to remove his stuff from the property and later in the day (yesterday), I was told that a female and a truck driver were ready to remove the items from the house.”
The property owner said all of the items were removed by the female. In the meantime, the man said he did not take the threats lightly given the magnitude of the matter. He visited Brickdam’s Criminal Investigation Department to make a report.
He said while there he was sent to the Enquiries Section, but was subsequently informed that he would have to go to Grove Police Station to file a report.
Feeling frustrated and fearful for his life and that of his family, the man said he went to CID Headquarters Eve Leary, and was again turned away after being advised that he should make a report at the Providence Police Station.
Eventually the man said the ranks there facilitated him and took a written statement.
Over the past few days the police began to unravel the major scam to which dozens have fallen prey. Two persons have been detained.
Investigators are also examining a secretly recorded conversation that a victim reportedly made of the alleged mastermind and his accomplices outlining the house lot deal.
Kaieteur News understands that some victims have identified the 25-year-old man, who was arrested Tuesday, as the person who introduced them to the alleged ringleader. They are claiming that he also accompanied them when they met with a woman who posed as a Housing Ministry employee.
A source said that at least 16 people are claiming that the suspect introduced them to the ringleader as someone who could help them to acquire house lots. The sums handed over for the documents varied from ‘down-payments’ of $250,000 to $500,000 and $1M.
Police and Housing Ministry officials have so far been unable to locate the ringleader, who fled from a Grove, East Bank Demerara house last Friday night. Housing Ministry officials subsequently placed a sign outside the building indicating that it was the Ministry’s property.

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