Wortmanville man slapped with 48 charges in $36M bank fraud

A 23-year-old unemployed man from Wortmanville, Georgetown, who was wanted by police, has been arrested and hauled before the court on Thursday, facing a staggering 48 charges in connection with a sophisticated bank fraud scheme that allegedly saw a couple lose over $36 million from their joint account.
Shemaiah Ryan, known as ‘Banker’, of Bent Street, Wortmanville, was arrested by ranks of the Criminal Investigation Department’s fraud unit on Monday, not long after a wanted bulletin was issued for him. He was charged on Friday for 25 counts of simple larceny and 23 counts of conspiracy to commit computer-related fraud. He was charged under Section 164 of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act, Chapter 08:01, and 23 counts of conspiracy to commit computer-related fraud, contrary to Section 22(b) of the Cyber Crime Act No. 16 of 2018.
The charges were read by Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts where Ryan appeared and pleaded not guilty to each count. He was granted bail in the sum of $50,000 per charge, amounting to $2.4 million in total. The matter was adjourned to May 16.

The charges arose after an investigation following a complaint by Bernadette Peterkin and Carl Peterkin, a married couple who share a joint savings account at a city bank. According to the case file, the couple never applied for nor were they ever issued with ATM cards, and they had not signed up for Internet Banking services. However, on September 2, 2022, Ryan allegedly conspired with other individuals to create a fraudulent National Identification Card in the name of Carl Peterkin, using his correct personal information. That individual then visited a Camp Street branch of the commercial bank, presented the false ID, and successfully represented himself as Carl Peterkin. While there, he requested an ATM card linked to the account and signed up for online banking.
The accused, according to investigators, then reached out to Donna Edwards and her daughter, Chelsea Edwards, both of whom he had reportedly known for several years. Ryan is alleged to have told the women that he was a contractor involved in Government Road Projects in Berbice and explained that his work schedule did not allow him the time to travel to Georgetown to make bank withdrawals.
Claiming he needed help to access his funds to pay his workers, he asked Donna and Chelsea Edwards to permit him to transfer monies to their bank accounts, which they would then withdraw and hand over to him. Both women agreed to the arrangement.
Between September 2 and September 19, 2022, the accused allegedly transferred a total of $17,997,000 from Bernadette and Carl Peterkin’s joint savings account to Chelsea Edwards’ account on 13 occasions through online banking. Similarly, between September 7 and September 27, 2022, Ryan is said to have transferred an additional $13,618,000 to Donna Edwards’ account in 13 separate transactions, again using online banking services. Investigators said both women withdrew the cash and handed it over to Ryan.
Additionally, during the period September 2 to September 30, 2022, the accused reportedly used the ATM card obtained through fraudulent means to make 27 withdrawals from several ATM machines around Georgetown, amounting to $4,829,000. These transactions, police confirmed, were all captured on CCTV footage showing Ryan making the withdrawals himself.
The total sum defrauded from the Peterkins’ account amounted to $36,444,000.
The police have not indicated whether charges will be brought against the Edwards women, nor whether additional suspects are being pursued. Investigations are ongoing.