Auto dealer Robert Allan Gates, who on August 31 appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson charged with 13 counts of obtaining money by false pretence, was on Tuesday further remanded to prison on five additional counts of the said offence.
Gates, 53, of 30 Seaforth Street, Campbellville was not required to plead to the indictable charges which state that between May 24 and June 30 at Georgetown, with intention to defraud, he obtained from Lester Cummings, Anita Singh, Clarence Adrian Jordan, Andy Brisport and Ruschelle Samantha McKenzie the sum of $1.9 million by falsely pretending that he was in a position to acquire motor vehicles for them.
Prosecutor Stephen Telford in his address to the court said that further investigations are still being conducted and additional advice is yet to be sought from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) as to the way forward in the matter.
Telford made an application that the defendant be remanded to prison on the grounds that the police were unable to ascertain his correct place of abode as well as an address for the location of his business. The prosecutor then advanced the argument that if granted bail, there is the likelihood that the accused may flee the jurisdiction.
Attorney-at-law Joe Misir who represented the defendant, in his application for bail told the court that the police who turned up at his client’s 30 Seaforth Street, Campbellville home were obviously not going to find him there as he “was a prisoner at the Camp Street prison.”
The attorney also submitted that the court should bear in mind that the offence is a bailable one and pleaded with the magistrate not to be preoccupied by the number of charges before her and to hold fast to the ancient sacrosanct constitutional principle that an accused is innocent until proven guilty.
“The court must remember my worship, that standing before you is an innocent man, and that is how he should be presumed,” Misir argued.
The lawyer, as he had done on the last occasion, emphasised that the agreements between his client and the complainants were all of a legally binding nature.
Misir said too that he remains appalled as to why such civil matters are being brought before the magistrate’s court as criminal proceedings. He stressed that the matters are all commercial, private contract matters and should have never engaged the attention of the magistrate.
“I am at a loss, my worship. Why are these civil matters being taken up by the police as criminal proceedings?” the lawyer asked.
Misir told the court that his client who has never denied receiving the sums from the virtual complainants remains committed to repaying them even from behind bars and has since honoured his financial obligation to at least one complainant who acknowledged being reimbursed a portion of his money.
When given a chance to respond, the virtual complainants said that they would simply like to be repaid, “every cent [they] have given to the accused.”
The attorney was unsuccessful in his bid to secure bail for his client who was later remanded to prison until September 21.
Gates remains at the centre of the multi-million dollar fraud after reportedly being unable to honour his obligation to supply vehicles to his clients after receiving payments from them.
On his first appearance before the acting chief magistrate, Gates, before his attorney arrived told the court that all the transactions made between him and his clients were of a contractual nature and his business is a reputable, registered one, adding that he has an approved dealership licence from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
In his submission, the accused who said that he has been in the auto business for nine years explained that he transacts the business of importing Japanese vehicles for clients here via his supplier Randolph Singh who is based in Queens, New York.
He said that the arrangement which is a legal, contractual one allows him to make payments collected by clients to Singh who would later export the vehicles to Guyana. Gates had said that in the last two weeks, he had been unable to locate or contact his supplier. The accused said that prior to this breakdown in communication with Singh, the supplier had been making several excuses in relation to having the vehicles shipped to Guyana.
He told the court that after realizing that something was amiss by constantly being unable to contact his supplier, he made a written complaint to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) explaining the issues he began encountering.
