Mom and son on fraud charges

A 61-year-old Trinidadian national living in Barbados and her 21-year-old son have been released on bail after appearing in a Bridgetown Magistrates’ Court today charged in connection with 18 fraud and theft-related offences.

Samuel Sydney Seales of President Kennedy Drive, St Michael is facing 13 charges, while his mother Margaret Jennifer Watts of Yearwood Land, Bank Hall, St Michael five.

The list of charges against Seales, who the court heard travels between Bridgetown and Port of Spain, allegedly involve thousands of dollars in purchases of items such as shoes, shirts and cellphones with the use of an RBC Royal Bank debit card belonging to one Verbert Samuel.

When District ‘A’ Criminal Court No.1 Magistrate Douglas Frederick read out the charges to Seales who was also born in Trinidad, he pleaded not guilty to all of them. One accusation is that on June 28, 2019, the mechanic and part-time sales representative, bought a cellphone valued at $1,849, the proceeds of crime.

The father of a two-week-old daughter is also charged, that on the same day, he dishonestly obtained from Por-Tabe Repairs Inc., one cellphone by deception, by falsely representing that he was then in lawful possession of the said debit card owned by Samuel.

He is also before the court for allegedly dishonestly obtaining from the store Brooklyn’s Finest, a pair of shoes worth $400 and two T-shirts with a price tag of $100. It is alleged that he got the items on July 23, 2019 by falsely representing that he was authorized to use the said debit card.

Although the police prosecution team objected to bail on the grounds that the accused may not turn up for court again, Magistrate Frederick did not buy it and granted him bail in the sum of $10,000.

The presiding judicial officer took into consideration the care of Seales’ infant, that the accused has no prior convictions and that he helps look after the wider family.

However, before releasing Seales on bail, the magistrate ordered him to surrender his passport and report to the Black Rock Police Station twice per week until his reappearance in court on July 2.

Seales’ mother Margaret Watts, who the court heard has eight children most of them residing in Barbados, is charged that on September 13, 2019, she bought a television valued at $899 with money from the proceeds of crime.

The retiree is also accused that on July 8, 2019, she bought a wardrobe for $539.99 which involved the proceeds of crime.

It is alleged that on the same day, Watts used deception and false representation by using an RBC Royal Bank debit card belonging to Samuel to buy the wardrobe from $2 Mega Store, purporting that she was authorized to have it.

Other charges involve the unlawful use of the debit card to purchase a television worth $899.90 from Courts (Barbados) Limited on September 13, 2019 and the theft of $13,000 from the bank account of Samuel on July 1st, 2019 and October 5, of the same year.

Watts was also granted bail in the sum of $5,000 under similar conditions to her son and must also be back in court on July 2.

She also pleaded not guilty to the charges.