Woman who claimed she can build low-income houses slapped with fraud charges

Feb 22, 2021 News

Kaieteur News- A woman who allegedly claimed that she could build low-income houses and collected a sum of cash from several persons to do same, was on Friday last, hauled before the court to answer to eight fraud charges.
The defendant, Nazia Persaud, made her first court appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Senior Magistrate, Leron Daly.
The incidents reportedly happened between November 12, 2019, and February 29, 2020.
It is alleged that on November 12, 2019, at Sandeman Place, Brickdam, Georgetown, with intent to defraud, she collected $265,000, from Monica Wills by falsely pretending that she was in a position to construct a house for Wills.
Another charge stated that on November 26, 2019, at Sandeman Place, Brickdam, Georgetown, with intent to defraud, she collected $200,000, from Deborah Caesar, falsely claiming she was able to construct a house for Caesar. On January 20, 2020, Persaud allegedly collected an additional $40,000.
It was further alleged that on December 10, 2019, at Sandeman Place, Brickdam, Georgetown, she collected $122,000, from Quincy Nelson, by falsely pretending that she was in a position to construct a house for his mother, Karima Nurse.
The woman denied the charges that were read to her and was placed on $180,000, bail. She is expected to make her next court appearance on February 26, 2021.
According to the facts of the charges, Persaud is a member of the Eclectic Foundation and she told the virtual complainants that the foundation was building low-income houses.
The virtual complainants signed up for the homes and handed over the sums of money to Persaud to complete the transaction.
The court heard that after the money was paid, nothing was done to construct the houses.
Several reports were made to the police and an investigation was launched. It was later revealed that the organization was not registered to build low-income houses.
Persaud was subsequently contacted and admitted to receiving the sums of money from the virtual complainants to construct the houses.
She was subsequently slapped with several fraud charges.