A Venezuelan woman who was among three persons recently slapped with a total of 10 fraud charges covering US$14,650 was yesterday further remanded to prison by a city magistrate after she presented a forged document to the court in an attempt to prove she had legally entered Guyana.
Yuimenni Lopez, 26; Simone Thompson, 40; and Dexter Thompson, 26, all of La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, were recently charged with uttering forged US currency to several persons.
The two Thompsons were granted bail on their first court appearance by Magistrate Leron Daly while Lopez, who is the fiancée of Dexter Thompson, was remanded until she could provide the court with documents to prove her entry into Guyana.
However, when the matter was called yesterday, Lopez presented the court with a forged document.
This prompted the prosecutor to ask the court to further remand the woman to prison, citing that an investigation will be launched into the forged document. He also told the court that there is no record of the woman entering Guyana and that she is likely to face more charges.
The magistrate, after listening to the prosecutor, remanded the woman to prison and instructed her to make her next court appearance on June 14, 2019.
Last week, Lopez was slapped with three charges and she pleaded not guilty to all of them.
The first charge against her stated that, on May 15, 2019 at Georgetown, without lawful authority or excuse, she had in her possession US$2,200 worth of forged currency.
It was further alleged that, on May 14, 2019 at East Street, Georgetown, with the intent to defraud, she uttered US$2,500 to Rockmin Deltoro, knowing same to be forged.
The last charge stated that, on January 25, 2019 at Quail’s Optical, Thomas Street, Georgetown, Lopez uttered US$1,800 to Clement Cumberbatch, knowing same to be forged.
According to information, Simone and her son Dexter, along with his fiancée Lopez, have gone about for months fleecing victims of millions. It is reported that the trio would approach persons and ask them to change US currency. The women would also go into salons and boutiques and offer to pay in US currency.
More and more persons are coming forward with similar stories, and more charges are likely to be laid against the defendants.
