Pastor jailed for four years

SAYING that confidence in the financial system needed to be restored, a San Fernando judge yesterday sentenced a Pastor, who pleaded guilty to $1.7 million fraud at the Unit Trust Corporation, to four years imprisonment with hard labour.

In passing the sentence, Justice Rajendra Narine admonished the accused Pastor Gerry David, who had worked at the UTC as an independent financial agent, saying that confidence had to be restored in the financial system and financial advisers could help bring this confidence about, but only if they were trustworthy to their clients. Pastor David was handed the stiff jail sentence yesterday by Justice Narine, after he pleaded guilty last Friday to the $1.7 million fraud. David, 43, of Morne Coco Road, Petit Valley, pleaded guilty to taking $1.7 million from his client Glenwyn Mottley and, instead of investing the sum in the UTC’s Second Scheme, placed the entire sum into the US Day Market Stock Exchange. David lost every cent of his client’s money in a matter of eight minutes, after trading in losing stocks. Justice Narine, who presided over the Second Assizes, told the accused pastor that a high degree of confidence was expected from him, when Mottley, who held the money in First Scheme units at the UTC, placed the said money in his (David’s) trust. “This sentence is to ensure that the stability of the financial system is restored. Investors must continue to repose confidence and trust in their financial advisers, who must not abuse the confidence and trust of their clients,” Justice Narine said. The incident happened on February 1, 1999 and Pastor David was subsequently arrested and charged by the head of the Fraud Squad, Snr Supt Wellington Virgil.

David convinced Mottley to take out the $1.7 million from the UTC’s First Scheme and invest the sum into the Second Money Market Scheme. The UTC issued a cheque to Mottley, who in turn made it payable to David. The Court heard from State attorney Narissa Ramsundar, that the UTC eventually compensated Mottley with the $1.7 million and added $50,000 as dividends, which Mottley would have earned had David invested the sum in the Second Scheme as originally agreed. Attorney Chateram Sinanan defended David. But Justice Narine stated that while the victim did not lose because he was reimbursed by the UTC, all shareholders of the UTC lost out, since the UTC had to stand the loss and pay back to Mottley, his $1.7 million plus dividends. “Clearly the shareholders of the UTC, many of whom are of quite modest means, have been forced to bear the substantial loss of the victim.” The judge said he was not convinced by David’s attorney’s request for a non-custodial sentence. Reiterating that he could not lose sight of the seriousness of the offence, in which David was placed in a position of financial trust, Justice Narine told the accused he hoped the sentence would serve as a deterrent to would-be offenders that such conduct would not be greeted by a “rap on the knuckles” with a simple exhortation “not to repeat the offence again.” Justice Narine, asking accused David to stand in the dock, said, “taking all the mitigating factors into account, I think a sentence of four years hard labour is appropriate.” The announcement of the sentence brought tears to the eyes of Pastor David’s wife and other relatives. David had been in custody since 1999, awaiting the start of the trial.