Ponzi scheme operators slapped with 10 new charges

Cuban national Yuri Garcia-Dominguez and his Guyanese wife, Ateeka Ishmael were on Monday slapped with 10 additional charges alleging that they swindled millions of dollars from Guyanese in a major Ponzi scheme. The husband and wife duo appeared via Skype before Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.

The new charges levelled against them allege that between May 2020 and July 2020, with intent to commit a felony, they conspired with persons, known and unknown, to obtain a total sum of over $60 million from 10 persons under false pretence. The couple, who was represented by lawyers, Glen Hanoman and Dexter Todd, pleaded not guilty to the charges. They were instructed to post bail in the sum of $1 million each. They return to court on October 5.
Last Thursday, the couple appeared at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court where they were arraigned on 13 charges, which alleged that they obtained the sum of $24.7 million from 13 persons by false pretence. They were granted a total of $3.9 million bail each and will report to court on September 18 for those charges.
Also on Thursday last, the couple was slapped with an additional six charges at the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Courts. They appeared via Skype and were not required to plead to the allegations that they obtained over $1 million from six victims under false pretence. The duo was remanded to prison until September 21.
Dominguez, the principal of Accelerated Capital Firm Incorporated (ACFI), had claimed that monies collected from Guyanese investors are stored in offshore accounts in several foreign jurisdictions, including Belize, the United States, and Germany. ACFI, in a recent statement, said funds are available in its Bitcoin Wallet to refund investors, and asked for authorities to allow them to reopen a bank account to be able to issue the reimbursements.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall had written to Dominguez’s lawyers, indicating that the Government is willing to facilitate that request so that Guyanese can get back their money. But Guyanese authorities said they have found no monies in bank accounts in Belize belonging to the ACFI principals.
This is according to the multi-stakeholder group, headed by Nandlall, established by the Government to investigate the allegations of fraud and other criminal activities connected to the alleged illegal pyramid scheme.
In a statement issued last Wednesday, the stakeholder group said, “Intelligence accumulated from reliable counterparts in Belize confirm that no company bearing the name “FK Choice” is registered with the local or the international Registry of Companies in that jurisdiction, as alleged by Yuri Garcia Dominguez.”
The operation of the alleged Ponzi scheme came to the fore after numerous complaints were made by persons who had invested with the company. The Guyana Securities Council (GSC) had informed the new Government that ACFI is not licensed to collect monies from the public, and that its operation violates several pieces of legislation across the fiscal regulatory architecture.
Under the Anti-Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Act, it is required for all investors to provide the source of funds and ensure that the financial activities and money laundering risks associated with a customer are properly recorded.