DAILY OBSERVER: A man has been convicted of obtaining money by false pretences in a case involving a failed housing project and a $300,000 loan obtained under fraudulent circumstances.
The conviction is as a result of events between June and July 2019, during which Raffique Skerritt convinced a Syrian national with limited English proficiency, to loan him $300,000.
Skerritt falsely claimed he was owed by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHAPA) and promised to repay the money with interest, along with providing a house and land.
According to the prosecution, Skerritt had initially approached CHAPA in 2018 with a proposal for a company – which the Intellectual Property Registrar confirmed was non-existent during the trial – to build 70 houses using new construction technology similar to Baupanel under a $16 million contract. While the then-chairman of CHAPA initially expressed support, a newly installed executive board later opted for a scaled-down trial of 10 houses valued at $1.6 million.
Construction began in early 2019 following a first disbursement of $800,000 in December 2018. Since the contracted company did not exist and therefore had no bank account, Skerritt arranged for the funds to be channelled through his attorney.
Despite receiving a total of $1.59 million by May 2019, Skerritt failed to deliver the completed houses within the agreed four-month timeframe. Site inspections found the work to be substandard. However, payments had been approved by the chairman of CHAPA, who was a friend of Skerritt.
In June 2019, Skerritt befriended the complainant and shared that he was actively working with CHAPA. He asked to borrow $300,000 promising $150,000 interest and a house and land in a nice area. He falsely claimed to still be owed $800,000 by CHAPA and reinforced this deception by arranging a visit to the CHAPA chairman’s residence, where the chairman confirmed Skerritt was owed.
Despite this confirmation, the complainant’s friend had concerns about the arrangement and suggested additional reassurances, including a life insurance policy naming the complainant as beneficiary. Skerritt took the complainant to sign what he claimed was a life insurance form, but police investigations later revealed it was actually an application form that was never finalized.
The complainant’s friend also recommended creating a contract. Skerritt used his attorney – a senior lawyer who drafted the contract based on information provided by Skerritt. Under the agreement, Skerritt was to repay the loan with interest within 90 days and also provide the complainant with a house and land. However, the contract was made in the name of the same company that did not exist.
After the 90-day period passed without repayment, the complainant contacted Skerritt, who requested an extension. In one instance, Skerritt told the complainant that if it took him 12 years to accumulate the $300,000, he couldn’t expect him to find it in two months.
Meanwhile, despite being granted an extension by the Minister of Housing, Skerritt failed to deliver the CHAPA houses. The partially constructed units were found to be structurally unsound, and he was subsequently dismissed from the project.
Skerritt was eventually arrested and admitted to police that he was not a contractor and had never previously engaged in housing development. He claimed he had intended to subcontract the work.
The prosecution posited that through his relationship with the Chairman of CHAPA, Skerritt committed fraud.
The defence, on the other hand, claimed that the matter belonged in civil court due to the existence of a contract. However, the court found that the deception was deliberate and criminal in nature.
Justice Ann Marie Smith delivered the guilty verdict, and sentencing has been set for July 3.