Nurse scotchtaped pensioner’s fingers to foil multi-million dollar land scam

Mar 01, 2026 News

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By Rehanna Ramsay

(Kaieteur News) – The alleged plot to strip a 71-year-old pensioner of hundreds of millions of dollars in rice lands was dramatically disrupted, not by a lawyer or police officer, but by the vigilance of a nurse who quietly placed scotch tape over the woman’s thumbs to prevent her fingerprint from being used on questionable documents. That simple, decisive act may have stopped what the elderly woman claims was a carefully orchestrated attempt to swindle her out of her inheritance.

Chandrawattie Mahabir, called “Daata,” of Lot 174 New Road, Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara (WCD), is accusing one of her own relatives of attempting to defraud her of her home and vast rice lands. The former Stabroek Market vendor said she has since reported the matter to police and is now seeking legal advice.

Mahabir told this publication that the issue came to her attention last December when a mutual friend enquired whether she had sold her family’s rice fields.

She revealed, “I was at a wake house when somebody came up to me and asked because they said they saw surveyors on the land. I told the person no, but I was scared, so I started finding out. That is when I hear my relative selling the land to some man…”

The pensioner who currently resides at a property she inherited from her father told Kaieteur News her parents and siblings died, leaving her as the sole direct beneficiary of the family’s inheritance, which includes six acres of rice lands located just off the new Four Lane Crane to Schoonard Highway, on the West Bank of Demerara.

She explained, “I live at my father’s house in Vreed-en-Hoop. My father had six acres of rice land, but he had a stroke and rented it. When he died in 1981, my mother took over, and when she died, my brother take over, and when he died, my sister- in- law took over, but my mother made a will because the rice land is in her name, Someria and my father’s name, Mahabir. The will states that the property is to be divided equally among my brother Sarjoo, my sister, Mahadai and me, but they all died and left me with the will.”

The woman continued “…After they died, I asked my relative (name provided) to help me with it because I have to do the distribution of the family estate. So,  I later gave her ( the relative) a Power of Attorney [POA] to do the transaction for me.  She took me to a lawyer at Henry and Durban Streets. He said that the will can’t work because everybody is dead in the will. He tell me he would put everything in my name and I have to do the distribution of the land. I said no problem, ‘I won’t rob anybody’ and I signed for that. I didn’t sign for sale.  My mistake is I didn’t read what I signed for, because I trust my relative with what she told me.”

Mahabir, who is not too literate, said that she was under the impression that everything was fine until she learnt that her relative had initiated the process to sell the lands and had used her signature to obtain an irrevocable POA in the name of her reputed husband, who is a convicted drug dealer on 21st of July, 2025.

She stated “I never signed to that… Me aint know this man, I never see him before now. I gave her the power and she tell me to sign to get the land in my name so I could distribute it… I don’t owe he, so I don’t know how he get this document saying that I owe him and gave him irrevocable power to basically do whatever he wants with my family property”

According to the document seen by this newspaper, the POA in  the name of the man empowers him to “sell, purchase, take on lease, hire, subscribe for or otherwise acquire, demise, let or otherwise dispose of and mortgage, pledge or otherwise deal with all movable and immovable property of whatever description belonging to Mahabir.”

In addition, the document states, he can also receive transports, leases, surrenders, transfers and assignments thereof, to receive, accept, cancel, annul and transfer mortgages of every description and appear before any judge, registrar, notary public or officer,” in the execution of his duties.

The document further gives the man numerous other rights to act on Mahabir’s behalf including to apply for the granting of Probate of the Will or letters of Administration of the Estate of any deceased person(s) and to exercise all or any of the trusts, powers, duties and discretion by law…”

“This is basically saying I sign over everything, and there is nothing that I can do about it, which is not true. I never did that. I am in my right mind,” the woman added.

The document states that the power is irrevocable and valid for three years, even in the event of death, disability or insolvency. Mahabir said ‘the falsified POA’ was later used to draft an agreement of sale, which states she sold her family’s estate to the man, which she said she never agreed to.

That document, seen by this newspaper, shows that on August 5, 2025, Mahabir agreed to sell the man her Vreed-en-Hoop home to pay off a debt she owes.

This agreement of sale states that the elderly woman is indebted to the purchaser, $25 million for a private loan secured against her Lot ‘F’ South Public Road, New Road, Vreed-en-Hoop, West Bank Demerara.

It states that Mahabir agreed to sell and transfer ownership of the subject property to the man for the total sum of $75 million to facilitate the repayment of the private loan against the subject property and to pay the balance of $50 million to my relative, on the vesting of the property to the man.

Further, the document outlines that Mahabir agreed sell the rice lands located Block letter ‘N”  Vreed-en-Hoop, in the Klein Pouderoyen Best local government district containing an area of 87.573 acres to the man for the sum of $75 million.

As part of the sale, the man must first deposit $25 million to Mahabir, and the balance of the purchase price of $50 million shall be paid upon the passing of the transport for the property.

However, the elderly woman is contesting the transaction,“ I never agreed to any of this, and I would never agree to it,” she said, adding that just recently a lawyer clerk acting on behalf of the man came to her home with a cheque for $25 million for the lands.

“But I told them no. I so sick, I end up in the hospital last month with pneumonia and so my relative come with the same man that she try sell the land to, till there to get me to sign some papers. I refuse and like the nurse overheard them talking about me signing, and the next morning, I woke with clear scotch tape on my thumb fingers. I asked her why my finger was scotch taped; she said she overheard what was happening and she wanted to make sure nobody come during the night and take my thumbprint…” she explained.

Mahabir is now contemplating legal action for the alleged fraudulent acts.

‘My nephew is talking to a lawyer because we want to make sure that the sale does not go through and everyone gets what is rightfully their share.”

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• Chandrawattie Mahabir, land scam, Nurse, pensioner, rice lands

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