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Jagdeo urges citizens to report wanted ponzi scheme suspect
—expresses concern for elderly victims
Kaieteur News- Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has expressed deep concern for the victims of the alleged ponzi scheme led by Yuri Garcia-Dominguez, and has urged citizens to report his whereabouts to the police.
Wanted: Yuri Garcia-Dominguez
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) issued a wanted bulletin on Wednesday for 39-year-old Yuri Garcia-Dominguez, who is accused of 58 counts of fraud. In addition, 180 charges are still pending against him. Speaking at his weekly press conference at the Freedom House, Jagdeo condemned Dominguez’s actions, especially towards the elderly who are particularly vulnerable. “A lot of elderly people, etc., this guy has stolen their money again. The President has given police direction that they gotta look for this guy again. I hope they catch him and jail him. You know, this is a crook,” Jagdeo said.
Jagdeo emphasised his concern for non-business people who are most vulnerable to such schemes. “I know some businessmen invested, but I don’t want to say bad things. They were stupid people. If you were a businessman and you invest a hundred million, well, too bad. You lose your money because of stupidity,” Jagdeo continued. “But the elderly, I’m more concerned with—housewives, the elderly people—they get seduced into this scheme. You know, because they believe, ‘I got a little money, I can invest it and get something.’”
He added, “And they fall prey to this stuff because they’re smooth talkers. Those are the people I’m worried about now. I don’t know how deep it has gone.”
Dominguez, who is no stranger to legal troubles, was previously investigated in 2020. That investigation led to both Yuri and his wife, Ateeka Ishmael, being charged with over 80 fraud-related offenses under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act. Ishmael was also charged with conspiracy to commit a felony, denying allegations that she had conspired with her husband and others to forge a COVID-19 test result on July 27, 2021.
In addition to these charges, Dominguez and Ishmael are accused of defrauding hundreds of Guyanese citizens out of millions of dollars through the ponzi scheme. Dominguez made several court appearances, where he denied the charges. After spending nearly a month on remand, he was released on $30 million bail with the condition that he report to the Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters at Eve Leary, Georgetown, every Friday. However, Dominguez failed to comply with this condition, prompting the issuance of the wanted bulletin. The police also revealed that Dominguez is wanted for questioning in connection with several additional fraud-related matters.
The police are asking anyone with information about Dominguez’s whereabouts to contact the nearest police station.
(Wanted: Yuri Garcia-Dominguez)
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