MMG fraud accused denied bail again, confirms identity in Stabroek Market scam

Mohamed Ali, the man accused of scamming a woman and her teenage daughter of more than $700,000 while posing as a Mobile Money Guyana (MMG) agent, was again denied bail when he appeared before Magistrate Annette Singh at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
Ali is facing a fraud charge linked to the March 29 incident, in which he allegedly deceived a Suriname-based woman and her 16-year-old daughter, using the pretext of an MMG account update and a fake promotion.
The case drew attention after it was revealed that he collected $625,000 in cash from the teen at Stabroek Market, having earlier manipulated one-time passwords to access an additional $113,000 electronically.
Represented by Attorney Dominick Bess, Ali sought bail during the hearing. Bess admitted that his client had a previous conviction for a similar type of offence but insisted that he was not a flight risk and would attend all future court dates.
However, the prosecution strongly objected, stating that the investigation is still ongoing. They also revealed that CCTV footage clearly captured Ali with the virtual complainant at the Stabroek Market location during the handover of the cash.
According to the prosecutor, Ali was shown the footage during a police confrontation and confirmed that he was the individual seen in the video.
Additionally, the clothing worn by the accused in the footage matched the description provided by the teen.
It was also stated that Ali was not only charged with obtaining monies by false pretence, but he also had computer-related charges.
Magistrate Singh, after considering the submissions, refused bail and adjourned the matter to June 27, 2025.
She informed Attorney Bess that he could renew the bail application at the next hearing.
Ali remains in custody as police continue investigations into this case, which forms part of a larger pattern of MMG-related scams that have targeted unsuspecting victims across the country.