Latest update April 24th, 2024 12:59 AM
Mar 12, 2012 Letters
Dear Editor,
EZjet’s CEO, Sonny Ramdeo, met the press last week to address questions about the source of the millions of US$ he is investing in an allegedly unprofitable airline venture.
Though the source of Sonny’s millions still remain unclear, he has left the impression that he is a patriot who cares more about his country and compatriots than he currently does about himself.
For according to Sonny, the amount and nature of his investment is nobody’s business as he is making it because he does not like how he or Guyanese are being treated by other airlines.
In another place and time, perhaps even now among the uninformed and uninquisitive, feelings of pride would be seen as sentiments appropriate for the story that Sonny told.
But given that we are in this time and in this place and are informed and inquisitive, Sonny’s story has only engendered more questions for the answers he gave.
So I took to the Internet to find answers to some of those questions, particularly those engendered by Sonny’s claim that his initial US$1.5 million investment was raised from his accumulated investment, 401k retirement account, and income from his other businesses. My findings and observations follow.
Public information shows that Sonny paid $370,000 for his Florida home in October of 2009, and that it had a market value of $307,000 in 2010 and $313,000 in 2011. Even if we accept that Sonny paid cash for his home and fully mortgaged it to help raise the initial US$1.5 million reportedly invested, that still left US$1.2 million to be raised.
By his own account, Sonny works fulltime as a payroll director at a US health care company, which happens to be Promise Healthcare, a privately held business that operates fifteen (15) hospitals.
Publicly available information shows that Sonny has been in that job since February of 2005. Even if we were to temporarily banish experience, reason, and common sense, it would still be asking too much to accept that a 34-year-old with a relatively brief professional life in Sonny’s field could have a 401k retirement account that would be substantial enough to make a significant contribution to a US$1.2 million shortfall.
I am forced to forego any extended speculation on Sonny’s claim that his so-called “accumulated investments” were another source of funding because I was unable to find any information on those investments.
However, we can use our common sense to wonder why Sonny did not name those investments and whether or not they were substantial enough to make the required substantial contribution to his initial investment, especially in light of the obvious gross inadequacy of the contributions made by his home and 401k retirement account. So I move to Sonny’s claim about his three other businesses.
My search revealed that Sony registered three businesses in Florida in the last three years. The first, called Caribbean Temptations, LLC, was registered in October of 2009 and dissolved in September of 2011. The second, EZ-JET GT, Inc., was registered on August 1, 2011, with Sony as CEO and Ghaneshwattie R Persaud as COO.
The Article of Incorporation shows that this company is authorized to issue 100 shares. Then on October 7, 2011 Sonny filed papers of incorporation for a company called EZJET Holdings Inc, with himself as the CEO. No other officers were named and the Articles of Incorporation authorizes this company to issue 1000 shares.
All three companies were incorporated in Florida and were all organized to carry out “any and all lawful business”.
It should be noted that the name EZjet Air Services, Inc. or EZjet Air Services that is being used in Guyana is nothing but a doing-business-as name for EZ-JET GT, Inc.
No information was seen on the assets or income of these businesses, that were each incorporated using Sonny’s home address. But I think those facts can be easily deduced from the length of time they have been in operation.
Sonny, at the news conference, pointed out that he waited his turn in the line, that he did not jump it. But we can draw our own conclusions by looking at the fact that EZjet was incorporated in August of 2011 and was flying into Guyana in December of 2011.
Unless Sonny meant that he waited until others had tried and failed, his approval timeline to fly into Guyana is made even more remarkable by the fact that Ezjet was not bonded, did not contract with a carrier, and did not get US Department of Transportation approval until October 26-28 of 2011. I am wondering if any other airline had applications awaiting approval before those timeframes.
Sonny seemed and sounded very agitated when he was asked about the likely unprofitability of his venture and the possibility that it may fail.
He sounded very adamant that he is in it for the long haul. Well, unless Sonny was told that Delta and/or Caribbean Airlines may be abandoning the JFK-GEO pretty soon, I do not see any reason for Sonny to hang around for too long. And Sonny’s current charter prospectus/program on file with the US Department of Transportation does not reveal the long-term intent he alluded to at the news conference.
When Sonny filed his charter prospectus/program on October 27-28, 2011, he stated an intention to run 137 charter flights from December 9, 2011 to June 5, 2012, between JFK-GEO. And here is where Guyanese ought to open their eyes.
Since filing that original charter prospectus/program EZjet has filed four amendments I was able to find. EZjet must file amendments for any changes to the program, including cancellations, changes in flight routes, carrier, number of flights, etc.
The first amendment was filed on November 8, 2011 by Zuckert, Scoutt and Rasenberger, LLP, a law firm that had been previously used by GY 2000 and Universal to represent them in matters before the US Department of Transportation. In that filing, EZjet advised of the cancellation of the flights scheduled for December 9 through December 15th, 2011.
The second amendent was filed on January 10, 2012 and asked for two flights to be added on 2/15/12 and 2/29/12, both from JFK-GEO/POS-JFK; and for flights scheduled from 2/11-2/14 and from 2/16-27 (except 18-22) to be changed from JFK-GEO-JFK to JFK-GEO/POS-JFK.
The third amendment was filed on January 13, 2012 advising that the January 19th flight would be canceled. EZjet is required to report all proposed canceled flights ten days in advance except when it is unavoidable, and passengers must be informed and fully refunded.
The fourth amendment was filed on 2/16/12 and reported that EZjet had on 2/15/12 signed an agreement with Miami Air International, Inc for a one-way flight from POS/JFK on 2/26/12.
I searched diligently but could not find any amended filing other than those listed above, and none showed that EZjet would be operating beyond June 5, 2012. Perhaps EZjet did make a filing that shows it would be operating beyond June 5, 2012, but I could not find it. Or it is possible that EZjet does not have to report its intention at this time.
Well, only Sonny can tell us. It should be noted that in spite of Sonny’s unmistakable allusion to the theme of patriotism over profit, he was careful to point out that his investment was based on sound research.
I have no reason to doubt him. But I wish he would tell our nation whether or not he has filed or will file with the US Department of Transportation to fly charters into Guyana beyond June of 2012, which is less than three months away.
Lionel Lowe
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