A GUYANESE and a Britisher appeared in court yesterday in relation to a $3.4M visa scam. Conrad Wright and Andrew Wilson (no addresses given) both pleaded not guilty, before Acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, also to an assault charge.
One allegation against the duo is that, between January 11 and 13, with intent to defraud, they obtained the sum from Hamid Parag, by falsely pretending that they were in a position to obtain United States (U.S.) visas for the virtual complainant and his family.
It was also alleged that Wright and Wilson, on January 13, unlawfully assaulted Parag to cause him actual bodily harm.
Police Sergeant Lionel Harvey, prosecuting, said the Guyanese Wright contacted the virtual complainant and introduced him to the Britisher Wilson, who pretended to be a visa officer at the U.S. Embassy.
The prosecutor said Parag gave Wright his passport and $1.7M as fees for processing the visas for himself, wife and three children.
However, the defendants, subsequently, made contact with the virtual complainant and told him he has to pay more to complete the process and he gave them an additional $1.7M.
Harvey said the defendants approached Parag again, showed him two passports with visas and demanded more money.
However, the virtual complainant became suspicious and reported the matter and a sting operation was set up to apprehend the defendants.
According to the prosecutor, the virtual complainant met them inside a motor car but when they saw the Police, they pushed him out of the moving vehicle and drove away, causing him to suffer injuries.
The police gave chase and the defendants were, eventually, arrested, the court was told, as the prosecutor objected to pre-trial liberty for both men, on the basis that Wright has other similar cases pending and he, too, is a flight risk.
The cases were called later yesterday, before Magistrate Judy Latchman and  Wright was allowed $2M bail on the fraud charge and $60,000 on the assault charge, while Wilson was remanded to prison until January 25.