A 50-year-old bar owner, of Dow Village, California is charged for allegedly pretending to be the owner of a parcel of land belonging to Caroni (1975) Limited.
It is alleged that he fraudulently obtained $100,000 from a couple, who wanted to purchase the land, two years ago.
Ernest Todd was charged by PC Jaikaran and appeared before Justice of the Peace Steven Young on Friday.
He was granted $90,000 bail with a surety and ordered to appear at the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court on April 29.
The bar owner was arrested on Thursday after investigations were conducted by the Fraud Squad based on a January 2021 report.
Todd allegedly received the money after entering into a sale agreement with a couple in February 2019.
He allegedly provided them with forged documents that appeared to show he owned a two-acre parcel of land in Couva.
After a delay in conveying ownership of the land to them, the couple became suspicious.
They subsequently learned that the land, which was previously under the administration of Caroni (1975) Limited, was red-flagged after being sold several times to unsuspecting persons.
After attempts to get a refund from the suspect proved futile, the couple made a report to the Fraud Squad.
The suspect was arrested after investigations conducted by PC Jaikaran revealed that he never held any entitlement or ownership to the land.
