A man who claimed that he was a businessman and operated a mining operation in Puruni, Cuyuni River has reportedly tricked and robbed several persons on the Essequibo Coast.
A photo of the conman who called himself “Kelvin”
The man, whose name was given as Kelvin, reportedly checked in at the Gold In Gold Hotel at Aurora Village on Sunday, November 25.
At the time, he did not have money, but convinced the proprietor that he had come out of the interior to sell his raw gold and more so, to pick up his three workers who reside in Charity. The woman agreed to let him stay at the hotel.
He proceeded to order dinner and retired to bed. He even convinced a Venezuelan woman to stay over with him and promised to pay her before she left the hotel – this never happened.
Upon waking up the next morning, he ordered breakfast and left for Hibernia to get a haircut at a barber shop and a boutique. During his visit, he reportedly forged a relationship with the barber, who is also the owner of the boutique.
He went back to the hotel, but the following morning, he booked three additional rooms and at the same time requested a taxi to transport him around. The taxi was organised by hotel management.
The conman allegedly instructed the taxi driver to transport him to the boutique, where he collected a mobile phone valued $35,000 and a few pieces of clothing. Again, he promised to return with the money for the items after he would have sold his gold.
He also requested a SIM card to use in his phone. The man then collected a 15 pennyweight gold chain valued $135,000 from the driver of the taxi and subsequently requested to be taken to a goldsmith so he can order a chain with the same pattern for himself.
The conman further ordered the taxi driver to go to Charity to collect his three workers and bring them to the hotel.
After some time elapsed and there were no signs of the three men, the taxi driver thought something was amiss and attempted to contact the alleged businessman, but his phone went unanswered.
He contacted the proprietor of the hotel to inform her of his suspicions but was told that the conman collected $30,000 from her and rushed off claiming that he was going to attend to some urgent business and promised to repay her as soon as he returned.
Upon launching an investigation, she found out that the man had taken another $20,000 from a relative who was staying with her.
The Venezuelan woman who would have spent a night with the man was informed and upon checking her bag, she discovered all her money was missing. Meanwhile, a staff of the hotel had recalled taking a photo of the man holding the child of another employee and as such, the photograph was taken to the police station.
It was subsequently revealed that the man was recently released from prison and would have conned several persons on the Essequibo Coast. The Police are continuing their investigations. The conman remains on the run.
