…attempts to swindle several persons, detained by Police
By Ramona Luthi and Yanalla Dalrymple
Eight months after appearing at the Georgetown Magistrates Courts for fraud, and having an order passed for him to be deported, Trinidadian fraudster Anthony Nestor has again found himself back in the proverbial hot water in Guyana.
At the Brickdam Police Station, several persons were gathered on Monday afternoon to provide statements to police in regard to being fleeced of various sums of money by the apparent career criminal.
Fraudster Anthony Nestor sitting in the Brickdam Police Station on Monday
One such person has been identified as Dr. Dawn Stewart, Funeral Director of the Lyken Funeral Home.
According to Stewart, she was contacted by Nestor –who went by the alias Andrew Nestor — on November 3, 2017, and he claimed that he needed assistance for an ‘etiquette’ programme he wanted to establish for children in Guyana.
“He came to my office [allegedly] on referrals from various Ministries and NGOs with reference to assistance with an etiquette programme that he was doing for children in Guyana, and so he wanted our NGO to partner with him and help him,” she explained.
The founder and Chief Executive Officer of the non-governmental organisation Monique’s Caring Hands — a mental health institution — explained to the Guyana Times that the fraudster told her that he had accumulated in the United States donations to the sum of US$300,000, and that he needed help for the money to be “brought to Guyana through [my] NGO.”
“I explained to him how NGOs work, and how funds that are donated to the NGO can be transferred anywhere around the world. Then he noted to me that it was in cash that he had US$300,000 that he wanted to move,” the doctor said.
“I told him I’ll put it [his situation] to the [NGO’s] Board, and I’ll let them decide on how they’re gonna handle it, since the money is in the United States. So he continue calling me, and I told him that we are working on it.”
Further, Nestor reportedly told the woman that the etiquette programme that he was initiating in collaboration with the Ministry of Education had been scheduled for November 9, 2017 and catered for 300 children.
The con artist also provided a flyer of the event to the woman.
Stewart explained that she became suspicious over time, and contacted several high profile persons in society to run a background check on Nestor.
It was shortly after that the shocking revelation that the man was a notorious fraudster was made to her.
The Funeral Director said the young man kept making contact with her, and she opted to “play along” to see what was up his sleeve.
Nestor reportedly became impatient with the slow pace of the procedure and so amped up him dramatics when he contacted Stewart again, claiming that he was becoming frustrated because his money was tied up abroad, and he was contemplating suicide.
The woman said she offered words of comfort and volunteered to write a cheque for $640,000 to him, granted that he agreed to sign a promissory note indicating that he would repay her.
Nestor agreed, and kept in contact with the woman. However, for the last week, Stewart said, she had been engaged with other issues and so could not deal with him.
After making a report at the Brickdam Police Station’s Criminal Investigations’ Department (CID), a sting operation was set up for Monday.
“Monday morning I came to the “A” Division Commander and made a report that this had transpired, and I gave him the information… and I agreed [with Nestor] that we would meet and I would give him the money,” she explained.
Moreover, the duo made arrangements to meet at Cara Lodge, where the exchange was in process. However, as he was about to collect the cheque from Stewart, Nestor reportedly asked to be excused and attempted to flee the scene as he had recognised members of the Guyana Police Force nearby.
He was nevertheless apprehended and taken into police custody.
When Guyana Times arrived at the Police Station, four other persons who had allegedly been swindled by Nestor were also present.
One of the victims was identified as the father of the now deceased 22-year-old teacher Kescia Branche – who was beaten unconscious and abandoned in the vicinity of Louisa Row and Princes Street on November 7.
According to the man, Alfred Branche, Nestor had managed to con him out of $10,000 at the Georgetown Public Hospital last week.
Other persons told Guyana Times that he had rented their vehicles for several days without making any payments, and had “disappeared.”
In March of this year, Nestor, a 29-year-old Trinidadian, appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates Courts before Magistrate Judy Latchman and was ordered to pay Brandsville Hotel $260,824, as well as a court fine of $100,000, or face 36 months in jail.
The Magistrate further instructed that the con artist be deported.
The court heard that Nestor’s charge was that between April 1, 2016 and April 15, 2016 at Campbellville Georgetown, he incurred a debt of Gy$260,824 at Brandsville Hotel, and had pretended to be the holder of a valid credit card to pay same at the entity.
The card was in the name of Wilfred Brandford.
Further, between August 15 and August 18, 2016, at Campbellville, he incurred a debt of Gy$66,898 at Opus Hotel, where he again pretended to be the holder of a valid credit card to pay same at the entity. The card was also registered in the name of Wilfred Brandford.
The Trinidadian has been in Guyanese court for several other fraud charges.
