Husband and wife jailed for operating Ponzi scheme in Guyana

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC)–Guyana's Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) says it has secured convictions against Cuban-born Yuri Garcia Dominguez and his Guyanese-born wife, Ateeka Ishmael, who were each found guilty of illegally operating a Ponzi scheme.Magistrate Sunil Scarce, sitting at the Vigilance Magistrates’ Court, sentenced both defendants, with both accused fined one million Guyana dollars (One Guyana Dollar=US0.008 cents) and a one-year jail term each for the offence of operating a Ponzi scheme.For the offence of carrying on a business without registering with the Guyana Securities Council, Dominguez was fined GUY100,000 and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. His wife was also fined GUY100,000 and given a default sentence of six months.The court was told that the charges against the pair arose from allegations that between May 18 and October 16, 2020, at Coldingen, East Coast Demerara, the defendants operated the Ponzi scheme, defrauding Guyanese of hundreds of millions of dollars.SOCU said it was called in to investigate after hundreds of Guyanese citizens reported that they had invested large sums of money in the Ponzi scheme and were defrauded.SOCU said it “views these convictions as an important step in the enforcement of Guyana’s financial crime laws, particularly in matters involving investment schemes, unregistered financial activity, and the protection of Guyanese citizens from unlawful financial operations.”Deputy Commissioner Fazil Karimbaksh said that SOCU remains committed to investigating and prosecuting financial crimes, securities-related offences, suspected money laundering, and proceeds of crime offences.He said the Unit will continue to advance matters of this nature before the courts in keeping with Guyana’s wider anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism, and financial crime framework.