– he was not finished paying for

A PURPORTED car dealer was on Monday charged with fraud after he appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman.

An unrepresented Sarfraz Bacchus, 38, denied the charge, which stated that on May 17, 2018 at King and Charlotte Streets with intent to defraud, he allegedly obtained $550,000 from Yolanda Persaud by falsely pretending he was in a position to sell her a motorcar, PKK 8727.

Police Prosecutor Quinn Harris had no objection to bail, but according to the facts presented in court, the accused advertised the motorcar for sale on social media, and as such the virtual complainant called and expressed an interest in it.

Bacchus told Persaud that he was selling the vehicle for $800,000, and after test-driving it, Persaud told Bacchus that they had a deal, and they proceeded to make arrangements.
When the two met on May 17, Persaud gave Bacchus $550,000 and he in turn gave her the keys to the car.

But later in the month while a friend of hers was driving the car, one Vishnu Bodram stopped it and told the driver that the car is his, and that he should drive it to the police station.

When they arrived at the station, Persaud met them there and Bodram told her that Bacchus, the man she’d bought the vehicle from, had purchased it from him and was not done paying him for it.

Bail was granted Bacchus in the sum of $300,000, and the matter adjourned to November 12, 2018.