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Ten people accused of defrauding the San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation (SJLRC) of almost $22.5 million in a payroll scam have been granted a total of $21 million in bail.
The accused fraudsters were granted bail after they appeared in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court yesterday to answer almost 900 charges related to the scam, which allegedly occurred between 2011 and last year.
Ironically, the total bail granted to the group ($21 million) just barely fell short of the total amount they are accused of defrauding the corporation of.
The persons are brothers and fellow SJLRC employees Tallot and Masood Ali, of Bamboo Settlement No 3, Valsayn; Kewyn Charles, a 49-year-old clerk with the Couva/Tabaquite Regional Corporation from Rio Claro; brothers Sadeeq and Zaheer Mohammed, both of Bamboo Settlement No. 2, Valsayn; 29-year-old technician Nizam Ali and his common-law wife Renika Gayah, both of Kanhai Street, Aranguez; James Rodgers, a 42-year-old farmer of Chuma Monka Avenue, Petit Valley; Brandon Dilbar, from Evans Street in Curepe and Irshad Ali, of Igneir Road, Valsayn.
All except Tallot Ali were granted $2 million bail, as his bail figure was set at $3 million because he is facing the majority of the charges.
The charges allegedly arose from an internal audit initiated by the corporation’s former chief executive officer (CEO) Kofi Chapman last year.
The T&T Police Service (TTPS) has also stated that warrants have been issued for the arrest of two other people who were involved in the case. But they had not been arrested up to late yesterday.
Even as officers of the Anti-Corruption Investigations Bureau (ACIB) brought the accused to court well before its 9 am opening time yesterday, defence attorneys and dozens of the accused group’s relatives still braced for a marathon session, as has come to be expected for complex fraud cases involving hundreds of charges and multiple accused persons.
The process usually takes several hours, as court administrative staff have to process all the charges which are then read by a magistrate to each of the accused.
Through a joint effort by administrative staff, officers of the Court and Process Branch and a group of magistrates, the process was completed yesterday evening.
Magistrate Kerri Honore-Narine, who presides over the court that exclusively deals with fraud cases, would usually have had to read all the charges individually. Yesterday, however, some of her colleagues stepped in to assist in the tedious process.
The members of the group were taken before separate magistrates, who read the charges and then transferred the cases back to Honore-Narine, who considered bail.
Despite their best efforts, however, the last accused person was granted bail shortly after 6 pm.
As a result of the late finish, most, if not all of the accused, were expected to be remanded into custody over the Emancipation Day public holiday. Their families were reportedly unable to get the approval of their bail, as court staff had already finished work by the end of their hearings. Relatives are therefore expected to complete the process and secure the release of the accused when the court reopens tomorrow.
All the accused are charged with being part of a conspiracy to defraud the corporation.
Tallot Ali, a checker with the SJLRC, was slapped with 100 additional charges for allegedly falsifying his employer’s payroll system to facilitate the scam. All except Charles were slapped with various charges for money laundering.
The money laundering charges relate to each incident in which they allegedly withdrew the money that was fraudulently paid to their accounts. They were not called upon to plead to the charges, which were laid indictably.
Police prosecutors Inspector Rajesh Lal and Sgt Azard Ali objected to bail for all the accused, as they asked that Honore-Narine should consider the seriousness of the charges and the amount they are alleged to have defrauded.
The objections were challenged individually by defence attorneys, who pointed out that their clients had clean criminal records and were entitled to bail.
Honore-Narine agreed but imposed conditions on their bail, including ordering them to report to their nearest police station three times weekly for the duration of their case and to surrender their passports.
The accused were represented by a group of defence attorneys which included Richard Sirjoo, Rajeev Persad, Sean Cazabon, Larry Williams, Laura Guevera and Kavita Roop-Boodoo.
The group will reappear in court on August 28.
The charges
Tallot Ali: 2 counts of conspiracy to defraud, 100 counts of falsification of accounts & 100 counts of money laundering.
Masood Ali: 1 count of conspiracy to defraud, 57 counts of money laundering
Kenwyn Charles: 2 counts of conspiracy to defraud
Sadeeq Mohammed: 1 count of conspiracy to defraud & 100 counts of money laundering
Zaheer Mohammed: 1 count of conspiracy to defraud & 100 counts of money laundering
Nizam Ali: 1 count of conspiracy to defraud & 95 counts of money laundering
Renika Gayah: 1 count of conspiracy to defraud & 100 counts of money laundering
James Rodgers: 1 count of conspiracy to defraud & 100 counts of money laundering
Brandon Dilbar: 1 count of conspiracy to defraud & 30 counts of money laundering
Irshad Ali: 1 count of conspiracy to defraud & 63 counts of money laundering