Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
A former RBC Royal Bank (T&T) Limited employee has been ordered to pay almost $800,000 in compensation to a customer, who claimed that she (the former employee) used her position to defraud her.
High Court Judge Frank Seepersad on Wednesday ordered Leanna Pereira to pay the compensation to La Romain resident Dilks Pierre as he upheld Pierre’s fraud and fraudulent misrepresentation case against her.
Pierre was initially seeking to hold the bank vicariously liable and negligent over Pereira’s alleged conduct, but chose to withdraw that aspect of her lawsuit as it was set to go on trial before Justice Seepersad, yesterday.
She was ordered to pay $90,000 in legal costs to the bank for the discontinued case.
As Pereira did not file any evidence in the case and was not represented by an attorney, Justice Seepersad granted a default judgment against her, after verifying the validity of Pierre’s claims.
According to her court filings, in September 2018, Pierre claimed that she met an inmate at the Eastern Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre, in Santa Rosa, while visiting the location with a member of her church.
She claimed that she began a friendship with the inmate, who requested her assistance in contacting a purported attorney based in the United States to facilitate the transfer of the proceeds of the sale of a parcel of land.
Pierre claimed that she assisted the inmate and formed a friendship with the purported attorney, who offered his assistance to her with financial investments.
She claimed that the purported attorney introduced her to Pereira.
She claimed that in early 2019, she began making payments to Pereira for investment.
She contended that she realised that she had been defrauded after Pereira allegedly gave her suspicious statements using the bank’s letterhead.
She reported what transpired to the bank and the police.
In determining the case, Justice Seepersad expressed a sense of disquiet over the significant increase in fraud cases before the courts.
“It appears that this Republic is fast becoming the land of fraud, fake news, and fete,” Justice Seepersad said.
He encouraged citizens to exercise extreme vigilance to protect themselves and their assets.
“Take nothing for granted and verify all information before any investment or real estate transaction is pursued,” he said.
Justice Seepersad also questioned the T&T Police Service’s (TTPS) inaction in relation to Pierre’s report.
“This defendant (Pereira) had a work history with a financial institution. She is not a mysterious individual. Her identity is known,” he said.
“There seems to be an abysmal failure by the TTPS to discharge its mandate to protect and serve and sadly there appears to be a disturbing situation of selective enforcement,” he added.
As part of his decision, Justice Seepersad directed that a transcript of the proceedings be sent to the Office of the Commissioner of Police.
Pierre was represented by Cedric Neptune, Auldric Neptune, and Colin Cleghorn.
The bank was represented by Keston McQuilkin and Andrea Orie.