Edward Dodridge, who pretended to be a Guyana Power and Light (GPL) employee to obtain money, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, much to his dismay, when he appeared before Georgetown Magistrate Leron Daly on Friday.
He pleaded guilty to a charge detailing that between August 9 and 22, 2017 at Cane Grove, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara, he fraudulently obtained $157,000 when he visited the home of the virtual complainant posing as an employee of the Guyana Power & Light Inc.
According to Police Prosecutor Richard Harris, Dodridge visited the virtual complainant’s (VC) Cane Grove home on August 9, whipped out a fake badge with his photo, and informed the VC that he was there to remove her GPL electricity connection as a result of money she owed the power company.
Dodridge, however, instructed the VC that if she should pay him, he could have the matter settled. Thus the VC reportedly gave him $30,000.
However, on August 22, accompanied by her sister-in-law, the VC visited the GPL Main Street branch, where the defendant was contacted and given some $157,000. When the defendant disappeared with the money, the matter was reported to the Brickdam Police Station, and Dodridge was later apprehended and charged with the offence.
After listening to the prosecution’s facts, Magistrate Daly sentenced Dodridge to 12 months in prison, and his entreaties for mercy were all to no avail.
