Repeat fraudster jailed again after admitting to new multimillion-dollar fraud 

Convicted fraudster Dave Rajeshwar Persaud has again been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to two additional charges of obtaining by false pretence brought against him by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU). Persaud appeared before Magistrate Delon Bess at the Diamond Magistrates’ Court on May 22, 2026, where he admitted guilt to both offences. He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment on each charge, amounting to a total of four years behind bars.
The first charge stated that Persaud, with intent to defraud, obtained $1.8 million from Mitra Ramkumar by falsely claiming that he operated a business called “David R Persaud Group of Companies” and would invest the money and repay $3.222 million within 21 days. The second charge alleged that he fraudulently obtained a black Toyota Allion motor car, registration number PAF 1697, valued at $2.6 million from Joel De Souza after falsely claiming he would purchase the vehicle and pay for it by cheque. Persaud represented himself in court while SOCU was represented by Attorneys-at-Law David Brathwaite and Darin Chan along with Prosecutor Neville Jeffers.

The latest conviction adds to a growing list of fraud-related matters involving Persaud, who was previously convicted and sentenced in April 2025 for obtaining $30 million by false pretence from a woman whose funds came from her late husband’s life insurance pay-out. According to reports published on April 12, 2025, by Guyana Times, Persaud had convinced the woman to invest the money in a fictitious company called “Dave Persaud Investment Co” with promises of a 50 per cent return within two weeks. Investigators later determined that the operation was a Ponzi-style scheme.
SOCU had stated that Persaud falsely presented himself as a businessman involved in grocery importation, distribution and auto sales while encouraging residents to invest in the non-existent company with promises of returns ranging from 50 to 80 per cent. After collecting the money, Persaud fled Guyana and reportedly remained in neighbouring Brazil between September 2023 and April 2024 before being apprehended and returned to face charges. In that case, Magistrate Wanda Fortune sentenced Persaud to three years’ imprisonment after finding that the prosecution had proven all elements of the offence beyond a reasonable doubt. Persaud was also at the centre of another legal controversy in September 2025 when the Demerara High Court overturned a decision by Magistrate Delon Bess to dismiss three criminal matters against him.
According to SOCU, the matters had been dismissed after prosecutors were absent from a Zoom hearing on May 29, 2025. Prosecutors argued that they had previously been informed by the court clerk that the matters were adjourned to June 27, 2025, because Magistrate Bess would be sitting at the Leguan Magistrate’s Court.
However, when prosecutors appeared on June 27, they were informed that the matters had already been dismissed in their absence during a virtual hearing.
SOCU subsequently challenged the decision in the High Court, and acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh ruled in favour of SOCU, finding that the magistrate acted improperly by determining the matters while sitting in another magisterial district and without making proper enquiries regarding the prosecution’s absence.
The High Court quashed the dismissal and restored the matters.