US based Guyanese moves to court to save property from foreclosure

Oct 30, 2015 News

after relative uses fraudulent power of attorney to obtain loan from bank

A US-based Guyanese couple is desperately trying to prevent losing their Alberttown house, after a local bank moved to foreclose on a loan granted to a relative, who fraudulently used the property as surety under the claim that he was granted Power of Attorney to conduct business on their behalf.

The relative, Leon Dennis Goulding, who is now deceased, and his reputed wife, Carletta Abrams, have defaulted on a $4.3M loan from the Bank of Nova Scotia to whom they had mortgaged the property in question.

Sheldon Blair and his wife Lavern are claiming that Goulding and Abrams forged their signatures to show that the Blairs had appointed Goulding as their Power of Attorney, a matter that is presently engaging the police.

But what is baffling the Blairs is the fact that they had obtained an injunction from Chief Justice Ian Chang preventing the bank from foreclosing the mortgage. Yet two weeks later, without any hearing, the bank was able to secure from another High Court judge an order allowing them to proceed with the foreclosure.

“The bank was served with the Chief Justice’s order (injunction) and still they went to another judge and got another order that is contradictory to the Chief Justice’s order…it is obvious that one judge did not know about the order that was granted by the other,” said Arun Gajraj, attorney for the Blairs, who are seeking a number of other declarations from the court.

Among them is a declaration that the General Power of Attorney, allegedly executed by Goulding and Abrams on December 3, 2009, was obtained on the grounds of fraud and is null, void and of no legal effect.

They also want the court to issue an order revoking or annulling the General Power of Attorney, also on the grounds of fraud.

In addition, the Blairs are seeking an order from the court that the mortgage made and registered by Goulding and Abrams was obtained on the grounds of fraud.

In an affidavit in support of their court action which was filed by Althea Blair, the rightful Power of Attorney, the Blairs, who reside in Brooklyn USA, became the owners of the Albettown property in March 1997 by way of transport No. 243/1997.

They had allowed relatives to stay in the property, including Goulding, who was deported from the USA and had nowhere to stay and was granted caretaker status.

All went well until about September 2014 when the Blairs discovered that Goulding and his reputed wife Abrams, “unlawfully, fraudulently and deceitfully encumbered their property by and with a first mortgage registered on the 31^st day of March, 2010, in favour of Abrams, the Bank of Nova Scotia….”

The Blairs are contending that at no time was Goulding appointed as their duly constituted attorney.

Subsequent to the discovery of the unauthorized and unlawful encumbering of their property by Goulding and his reputed wife, the Blairs travelled to Guyana and visited the Deeds Registry and the Bank of Nova Scotia and obtained several documents pertaining to a loan purportedly applied for by Goulding and approved by the bank, using the Blairs’ transport as the security.

The property owners are contending that by forging and uttering the forged documents (Powers of Attorney), Goulding committed willful and corrupt fraud, in pursuance of obtaining a loan from the Bank of Nova Scotia, thereby submitting and exposing the Blairs transported property to real danger and risk.

“By reason of the aforesaid, the first named defendant (Goulding) deceived the third named defendant (bank) and the honourable court,” the affidavit stated.

In addition to the injunction and declarations, the property owners are seeking damages in excess of $1M for fraud committed by the now deceased Goulding, and his reputed wife Carletta Abrams and $1M for negligence against the Bank of Nova Scotia.

This matter, including the injunction restraining the bank from foreclosing was put down by Chief Justice Ian Chang for hearing on August 20 last but on that date no one from the bank showed up although they were served with the order.

On August 28, Justice James Bovell Drakes granted an ex-parte order in favour of the bank.