A CLICO employee and a woman were yesterday granted $150,000 bail each at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court by Acting Chief Magistrate Cecil Sullivan for allegedly being involved in a $6.5 million fraud at the insurance company.
Sherylyn Solomon, 26, of 213 Stanley Place, Kitty, an employee of CLICO, was not required to plead to forgery while Christine Stevens, 21, of 61 Oleander Gardens was not required to plead to two charges of obtaining money by false pretence. It is alleged that on January 25 at Georgetown with intent to defraud Solomon conspired with persons unknown to commit a felony, to wit forgery. She is alleged to have forged one Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO) cheque for $6,500,000. Stevens allegedly on January 26 with intent to defraud obtained from Republic Bank Guyana Limited the sum of $4.1 million. She is accused of falsely pretending that she was entitled to collect the said sum from a CLICO Life Insurance cheque knowing same to be untrue. She also on the same date allegedly with intent to defraud obtained $4.1 million upon a CLICO insurance cheque knowing it to be forged.
According to a police press release, the company has alleged that there were four fake transactions where the lives of four people were insured and death certificates were subsequently produced and money collected by various beneficiaries. The company had said that it detected the fraud through its own existing control systems and found some transactions that were not normal to the course of business.
Representing Solomon was attorney-at-law Basil Williams who asked the court for the charges to be taken summarily. However, police prosecutor Maxine Graham objected to this. She stated that investigations are still ongoing and other charges are likely and more persons might be charged. Williams in his bail application stated that Solomon was in custody since Thursday and she is young and was traumatized since men were beaten up in front of her. “She looks changed since the last time I saw her,” he said. He added that she is from a decent family. “Her father retired from the Guyana Defence Force and her mother is the sister of Dr Mitchell.” He stated further that Solomon is married with a two-year-old son and had worked at CLICO for eight years. Counsel said also that she was a member of staff in a department that has a number of people and she was merely a clerk. The offence, he said, is a bailable one and his client never had any previous convictions and they intend to vigorously defend the case.
Stevens’ attorney Ronald Burch-Smith in his bail application stated that her matter is related to Solomon’s and the cheque taken by her to the bank would have been issued under regular circumstances. He added that his client has co-operated with the police to give evidence for them to find other persons. Further, he said, she is a clerk at a store in Georgetown and has applied to do an accounts course at UG in the next semester. He then asked for reasonable bail, saying that Stevens, too, came from a good family background.
Police prosecutor Graham did not object to bail but asked that both women report to CID headquarters today at 9 am.
The magistrate granted bail and both women will return to the same court on April 18.
