A recent publication by the Guyana Times in which it exposed the role played by Ralph Ramkarran in real estate fraud amounting to millions of U.S dollars brought new light on the behavior of some of his other opposition colleagues who have been similarly accused by clients. Back in 2012 an elderly couple accused Attorney- at- law Khemraj Ramjattan of legal impropriety. The couple said that they paid the AFC leader millions of dollars to provide legal representation during a court dispute concerning a Camp Street property only for the lawyer to conspire with the other party and have the building sold for less than its actual value.

Michael Taharally and Veronica Da Silva told members of the media back then that Ramjattan acted against their interest by conspiring with Sheik Naseer to sell the disputed property for far less than its valuated price. The property was valued at $89M while Ramjattan signed off on a consent order on the couple's behalf and selling it for $55M.

In 2009 similar allegations were leveled against Ramjattan by one Prakash Persaud who claimed he had accepted payment to represent him in court but failed to do so. Prakash said Ramjattan's non-attendance at court caused him to lose the case. In the same case Ramjattan’s AFC colleague and House Speaker Raphael Trotman along with some of his relatives were accused of perpetrating fraud in order to deprive Persaud of millions in real estate.

Another AFC member and Attorney-at-Law, Nigel Hughes was also similarly accused. On the 17th January, 2014, Mayfield French, the owner of popular city school Mae’s, sued Hughes, Hand-in-Hand Mutual Life Insurance Company and the Registrar of the Supreme Court in respect of a property located at Lot 29 Subryanville, Kitty, Georgetown, upon which part of the school has been built. In the court papers French contended that she purchased the property from Hughes for the sum of $20,000,000 (twenty million dollars) on February 24th 2006. She paid $8,000,000 (eight million dollars) as a deposit and went in possession; transport was supposed to be passed within 8 months and a mortgage on the said property was supposed to be paid off before the passing of the said transport.

In the meanwhile, this property was built up by French with buildings constructed on it as part of the school building complex.

According to French, she spent nearly$400,000,000 (four hundred million dollars) on the said property. The portion which was bought from Hughes houses classrooms of Mae’s Secondary School, the canteen and the auditorium offices, washroom and other administrative and learning spaces. However, Hughes never passed transport to her.

STUDENTS’ EVICTION

Before the sale to French, Hughes had mortgaged the very property to Hand-in-Hand Mutual Life Insurance Company. French claimed that it was only in December, 2013 that she first learnt that Hughes never paid off a loan for which this said property was mortgaged as collateral and that Hand-in-Hand Mutual Life Insurance obtained foreclosure proceedings against the property and Hughes since 20th March, 2012. Hughes’s indebtedness to the company stood at over $26,000,000 (twenty-six million dollars). The property was levied upon in December, 2013, by the Marshal of the Supreme Court and purportedly sold at an auction.

According to French, Hughes never disclosed that he did not pay off the loan; that he was sued as a result, and that a foreclosure order was obtained against the property. French claimed as a result she now faces ruin.

In the Court’s document, she stated:

“The Plaintiff has no premises in which to house Mae’s Secondary except the building on East ½ of Lot 29 Third Avenue which was built by the Plaintiff specifically for that purpose.

There are three hundred (300) secondary students in occupation of the building, all students of forms 1-5, fifty-nine of which are preparing for their CSEC examination in April and May. These students would face irreparable damage if evicted from their school.”

After publication by sections of the media not aligned to the political opposition Hughes settled with French and the matter was resolved paving the way for the affected students to write their exams.

Observers have pointed out that the accusations point to a pattern of fraud being perpetrated by these lawyers aligned to the opposition. They say it smacks of hypocrisy that even as they point fingers at the government these individuals are engaging in practices which are immoral and unethical.

extracted from http://www.newguymedia.com