A beautician who allegedly pretended to be an officer attached to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and obtained money after falsely claiming to be in a position to sell a motor car was released on $150,000 bail on a fraud charge.
30-year-old Afiza Vaughn of Lot 54 Middle Street, Buxton, East Coast Demerara (ECD), yesterday appeared in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan who read the charge to her. The charge states that on July 6th at Charlotte Street, Georgetown, Vaughn obtained the sum of $630,000 from Arif Nazardin by falsely pretending that she was in a position to sell a motor vehicle to the complainant knowing same to be false.
Vaughn pleaded not guilty to the charge. The Prosecutor had no objections to bail, However, Vaughn was ordered to report to the Inspector in-Charge, Fraud Division, at the Brickdam Police Station every Monday and Friday, until the conclusion of the matter. The case was then adjourned until September 26th, 2022.
According to the facts read in court, Vaughn claimed to be a GRA Officer via Facebook and stated that she was ‘in-contact’ to sell a motor vehicle which was purportedly seized by the organization. On the day in question, Vaughn contacted Nazardin in Charlotte Street where arrangements were made and the money handed over. However, upon investigation, Nazardin found out that Vaughn was never an employee of GRA.
The Prosecutor also noted that the money was never recovered from the defendant. An official report was made to the Police and the defendant was contacted, told of the offence, arrested and charged.
