Station owner accused of obtaining $12.7M in petrol by false pretence

A 38-year-old businessman accused of a multi-million dollar petrol fraud was yesterday granted bail in the sum of $150,000 when he appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

The allegation is that on August 4 at the Guyoil gas station, Providence, Gangadeen Shreedat of 199 Seventh Street,  Windsor Forest obtained a quantity of gasoline and gas oil valued $7.2M from Guyoil by falsely pretending to Lloyd Mangra that he had the money to pay in a Citizens Bank account.

On August 5 at the said gas station, Shreedat is again accused on two other occasions of obtaining a quantity of gasoline and gas oil valued $3M and $2.5M respectively.

The defendant was not required to plead to three counts of the indictable charge of obtaining by false pretence when it was read to him by the magistrate.

Attorney-at-Law Hukumchand, who represented the defendant, told the court that mistakes happen from time to time and that was the case with his client.

The attorney said that his client, who also owns a gas station located in Vreed-en-Hoop, genuinely believed that money was in his account at Citizens Bank to have taken care of the petrol transactions after signing the cheques for its release.

“My Worship, mistakes happen in the commercial world, he did not realize that he had no money in his account to pay for the gas,” Hukumchand said.

The lawyer then made an application that his client be admitted to reasonable bail on the grounds that he had no previous convictions, has a fixed place of abode, poses no risk of flight and has been cooperating with the police in their investigations.
The prosecution had no objection to the bail application made by the attorney but submitted that the file be sent to the DPP for advice.

The father of one was later placed on $150,000 bail. He was ordered to return to court on September 22 for reports.