Ponzi scheme accused ask High Court to strike out fraud charges, block prosecution

Ateeka Ishmael and Yuri Garcia-Dominguez

Yuri Garcia-Dominguez and Ateeka Ishmael, the couple accused of operating a major Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of Guyanese of hundreds of millions of dollars, have moved to the High Court to get orders to prohibit the police from instituting or continuing the prosecution of criminal charges already instituted against them for fraud.

They also want an order directing the Attorney General (AG) to unfreeze accounts held in the name of Accelerated Capital Firm Inc. (ACFI) at the Bank of Baroda.

Garcia-Dominguez and Ishmael are the Financial Advisor and Trading Operator, and Director, respectively, of ACFI, which is currently under a major fraud investigation being conducted by the Guyana Police Force.