A look at alleged Ponzi scheme matters before the court

May 16, 2021 News

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By Renay Sambach

Kaieteur News – This week I will share with you two matters that involve defendants accused of running Ponzi schemes. According to Wikipedia, a Ponzi scheme is “a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. The scheme leads victims to believe that profits are coming from legitimate business activity, and they remain unaware that other investors are the source of funds.”
Most persons might be aware of Yuri Garcia-Dominguez and his wife, Ateeka Ishmael, of 242 Tract ‘A’ Coldingen, East Coast Demerara, who are accused of bilking over 17,000 Guyanese of US$20M (over G$4B).
A recent alleged Ponzi scheme matter that is now making headlines is one involving a 33-year-old nursing assistant, Keziah Jeuel Roberts, of Lot 88 Eping Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown, who was slapped with 19 fraud charges.
The charges were brought against the defendants by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), an arm of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).
According to Chapter 195 of the Criminal Law Offences Act, ‘OBTAINING MONEY BY FALSE PRETENSE,’ “Everyone who, by any false pretense, obtains from any other person any chattel, money, or valuable security, with intent to defraud, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and liable to imprisonment for three years: provided that if, on the trial of any person indicted for that misdemeanour, it is proved that he obtained the property in question in any manner amounting in law to larceny, he shall not by reason thereof be entitled to be acquitted of the misdemeanour, and no one tried for the misdemeanour shall be liable to be afterward prosecuted for larceny upon the same facts.”

KEZIAH ROBERTS
Roberts has, so far been slapped with 19 fraud charges and was placed on bail for all of them.

On April 30, 2021, she appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Senior Magistrate, Leron Daly, who read 13 of the charges to her. The two other charges were read to her by Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan.
Senior Magistrate Daly was unable to read all 15 charges, after two of the charges were not in her district. However, since the Chief Magistrate is permitted to hear cases from any district, she heard the two remaining charges.
Roberts denied the charges that were read to her and she was placed on a total of $460,000 bail. She is expected to make her next court appearance on May 21, 2021 for the aforementioned charges.
According to information, Roberts reportedly registered a business under the name ‘Kapital Kare Investment’ and posted a business flyer on her Facebook page reportedly enticing persons to invest in her business.
It is alleged that Roberts asked persons to invest the sum of $40,000 and in return, they will receive the sum of $180,000 within 21 days of their investment. Several persons reportedly invested varying sums of monies but never received their capital or returns as promised. The matter was then reported to SOCU and an investigation was launched. A wanted bulletin was later issued for Roberts who later surrendered and was charged.
On April 16, 2021, Roberts made her first court appearance and was slapped with four similar fraud charges.
Those charges allege that on January 5, 2021 at Georgetown, with intent to defraud, Roberts obtained the sum of $80,000 from Lynn Melvin, by pretending that she was in the position to invest the said sum of money and deliver to Melvin the sum of $360,000 within 21 days.
The latter charge alleges that on January 8, 2021, at Georgetown, with intent to defraud, she obtained the sum of $80,000 from Melissa Rupai by pretending that she was in the position to invest the said sum of money and deliver to Rupai the sum of $360,000 within 21 days.
Additionally, it is further allege that on January 8, 2021 at Georgetown, with intent to defraud, she obtained the sum of $80,000 from Devika Hiralal, by pretending that she was in the position to invest the said sum of money and deliver to Hiralal the sum of $360,000 within 21 days. She was then placed on $50,000 bail for each charge.
The fourth charge alleges that on January 19, at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara, with intent to defraud, she obtained the sum of $40,000 from Saskia, by pretending that she was in the position to invest the said sum of money and deliver $120,000 to Saskia within 21 days.
She was placed on bail and those matters were adjourned to May 21, 2021.

YURI AND ATEEKA
Alleged Ponzi scheme operators, Garcia-Dominguez and his wife, not only faced multiple fraud charges but were also slapped with two charges under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act.

It should be noted that, that was the first time SOCU has instituted charges under the AML/CFT Act. The AML/CFT Act, Chapter 10:11, prohibits businesses from operating as Financial Institutions without the necessary registration for regulation and supervision by the Regulatory Authorities, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and Guyana Securities Council.
Garcia-Dominguez is a Cuban national who was granted citizenship in June 2020. He and his wife are accused of bilking thousands of Guyanese of millions. The couple is in court facing 80 plus fraud charges.
They were not required to plead to operating a Ponzi scheme in breach of the Consumer Affairs Act, No. 13 of 2011 and carrying on a business without registering with the Guyana Securities Council in breach of the Securities Industries Act. Cap 73:04.
The duo is currently before three different courts facing charges, which allege that they obtain monies under false pretense. They were released on $30M bail after spending over a month in prison on remand.
According to reports, Garcia-Dominguez and Ishmael are officials of the Accelerated Capital Firm (ACF) Inc. and they allegedly lured thousands of Guyanese claiming that by investing with their company, they would get a 40 percent return on investment. The investors were also encouraged to enlist additional investors on a 10 percent commission basis. ACF Inc. is not registered with the Guyana Securities Council to conduct financial business either as an investment advisor and/or as a broker.
The “investors” included businessmen and church members, with a number of religious leaders accused of playing roles in recruiting unsuspecting Guyanese.
In December 2020, the company had offered to repay its investors in digital money, known as crypto currency. Crypto currency is a digital method designed to work as a medium of exchange, wherein an individual can do online transactions – the most popular crypto currency is bit coins.
However, Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall, had told Kaieteur News that the proposed crypto currency repayment method by the principals of ACF is not a legal tender in Guyana. The Bank of Guyana (BoG) had also stated that Guyana does not use crypto currency.
According to police, Garcia-Dominguez and Ishmael allegedly lured persons by claiming that by investing with their company, they would get, at least, 40 percent return. The investors were told that the money would be invested in the trade of foreign currency and was also encouraged to enlist additional investors on a 10 percent commission basis.
According to reports, the company had never advertised its business in the mainstream media, and the company is not registered with the Guyana Securities Council to conduct financial business, as either an investment advisor and/or as a broker. After complaints were made by investors of not receiving their money/returns, the new government launched an investigation into the alleged Ponzi scheme. This led to the couple’s eventual arrests and a slew of charges.

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