ROOKMIN Johnson, who allegedly pretended to be an official of the Ministry of Agriculture in order to con a Corentyne businessman of $500,000 by promising to deliver documents that would grant him tax exemption for his fishing trade, appeared in court charged with the offence. The 32-year-old resident of Chapel Street, New Amsterdam was charged with intent to commit fraud, and appearing before Sparendaam Magistrate Zamilla Seepaul, pleaded not guilty to the offence, which alleged that on February 5, 2016, with intent to defraud, she obtained $500,000 from Hemchandra Amerally by falsely pretending that she was an employee of the Ministry of Agriculture. She was placed on $600,000 bail, and is expected to return to court on March 21.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Amerally, also known as ‘Roy’, said he has been in the fishery business for over 22 years, and sells his produce on the Guyanese market, but has been experiencing constant harassment from customs officers at the port of entry.

“Sometimes I feel like giving up and shut this whole thing down, how it gets frustrating sometimes. Every time, I gotta pay money,” the man said.

He said that a few weeks ago he was told by a friend (name provided) that he can obtain a document that would make it not necessary for him to declare his produce to the customs officers. He immediately pursued the venture because he allegedly was fed up of being harassed. He was given the number of a woman, whom he called, and later met on February 06.

The meeting allegedly took place at Industry, East Coast Demerara, where he allegedly gave Johnson $500,000 with a promise to hand over an additional $500,000 when the document was produced.

“I was told I was going to meet a woman from the Ministry of Agriculture, who will set up the paperwork. She said she want a million…. I was told I will get the document back in two weeks; but after calling several times after the money was handed over, and not getting a positive response, I realized something was amiss,” Amerally told this newspaper.

According to the businessman, he realized he was conned after he and his friend met with the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, Gobin Harbajan, on February 09 and was told that only the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) can issue such a document.

They agreed to hatch a plan to catch Johnson by enticing her with more money to speed up the paperwork. The plan was to meet at a hotel in Georgetown and hand over the money, but the woman never answered her phone.

A report was then made to the police in ‘B’ Division, and Johnson was arrested on February 19 in New Amsterdam, Berbice. However, in a twist of events, Johnson told detectives that the businessman’s best friend (named) was the mastermind behind the act.

According to sources, Johnson said she collected $100,000 and gave the other $400,000 to that friend. The police are now seeking this named friend for questioning.