Senior Investigative Reporter
shaliza.hassanali@guardian.co.tt
A former insurance agent, who currently sits on a State board, has been accused by three investors, who entrusted him with more than $2 million through Guardian Life of the Caribbean (GLOC) Ltd, of defrauding them of over $1.5 million while he was employed by GLOC.
Last month, in a bid to seek justice, two of the investors reported to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s Fraud Squad office in San Fernando that they had allegedly been deprived of a combined $862,000. A third investor separately alleged that $698,575 was removed from his account without his knowledge or authorisation.
The three investors supplied documents they claim support their allegations, including what they describe as forged signatures, fabricated invoices and fake email correspondence.
In April, GLOC terminated the representative’s contract. He was later appointed chief executive officer of a state board, a position he held for four months before resigning. GLOC subsequently published notices in daily newspapers advising the public that he was no longer employed by the company and was not authorised to conduct business on its behalf.
However, he currently remains a director of another state board.
GLOC is a financial services company that provides life and health insurance, pension products and investment services.
Speaking with Guardian Media on the condition of anonymity, the investors said they feared being targeted because of the allegations. They described the matter not as a failed investment, but as an elaborate scheme that has left them emotionally and financially devastated.
Looking visibly distressed, they said the loss of their hard-earned savings has caused significant anxiety and stress.
One of the investors, whom Guardian Media is identifying as Devish Jagroop, has been a GLOC customer for several years.
After spending 29 years at Methanex Trinidad, Jagroop received a severance package when he was laid off. About five years ago, he opened a small business that was frequently visited by the GLOC representative, and the two eventually became friends.
According to Jagroop, the representative persuaded him to invest his money in an Individual Personal Investor (IPI) policy, promising substantial returns.
“I saw it as an opportunity to grow my money, so I invested $1.6 million,” Jagroop recalled.
He said he was promised returns of $150,000 within nine months, an offer he found difficult to refuse.
Last year, Jagroop, 58, visited GLOC with the intention of cashing in his policy. It was then, he said, that he learned $700,000 had been transferred to a Guardian Asset Management (GAM) fund on November 11, 2025.
Documents provided to him indicated that a “request for partial surrender” form had been submitted to facilitate the transfer. Jagroop maintains that his signature on the document was forged.
“I don’t remember signing any document authorising that transfer,” he said.
The father of one also insisted that he never gave any verbal instructions to move the funds.
According to documents reviewed by Guardian Media, the transfer was followed by the creation of an email account bearing Jagroop’s name. On December 22, 2025, that account was allegedly used to send an email to the representative’s legitimate Guardian Life address confirming the withdrawal of $698,575 from the GAM TT Monthly Income Fund.
The email stated that the funds were required to facilitate a business transaction involving payment to NBR Contractors Services Ltd for the reconstruction of a commercial roof.
Jagroop strongly denied any involvement in such a project.
“If you look at my house, you’ll see the roof is still the same old roof,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief.
He described the alleged scheme as carefully orchestrated and claimed many of those affected were retirees and pensioners.
“These are God-fearing people. We are praying for justice and hoping to recover what was taken from us. This came as a complete shock. Everyone trusted this man. He’s probably the best con man I’ve ever encountered.”
Jagroop said the experience has left him feeling deeply betrayed by someone he considered a friend.
After reporting the matter to GLOC, he was asked to complete a complaint form. Months later, however, he said he is still awaiting a formal response.
Should the matter remain unresolved, Jagroop said he intends to seek legal advice.
Frustration grows
A second alleged victim, whom Guardian Media is identifying as Fardeen Dhanraj, struggled to hide his frustration and concern as he recounted his experience.
Dhanraj, 56, said he first met the former representative at a temple before retiring from Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) in 2020. During their conversations, he was encouraged to invest his savings and “let his money work for him.”
After 40 years of service at TCL, Dhanraj said he followed that advice.
In 2019, he invested $500,000 in a plan that was scheduled to mature in 2024 and promised significant returns. Two years later, he began making additional monthly contributions of $1,250.
In 2023, however, he withdrew $100,000 from the investment and requested that $250,000 be placed into two separate accounts.
Several months later, he enquired about the status of his investments and was informed by the representative that their value had grown to approximately $860,000.
His concerns arose after learning that the representative was no longer employed by GLOC. When he visited the company to verify his account balances, he said he was shocked to learn that the combined value of his accounts was only $61,000.
“I asked them where my money gone?” he recalled.
According to Dhanraj, GLOC then provided him with a document dated January 26, 2026, showing what appeared to be his signature on a Request for Partial Surrender form authorising the transfer of $320,000 from his IPI policy to a GAM Monthly Income account.
After examining the document, Dhanraj insisted the signature was not his.
“That is not how I write my Fs and Rs when I sign my signature,” he said.
“I did not approve for this money to be transferred either.”
Like fellow complainant Jagroop, Dhanraj alleged that the representative created a fraudulent email account in his name. He claimed the email was used to communicate with his legitimate Guardian Life account and included confirmation of an ACH transfer of $315,000 to NBR Contractors Services Ltd on April 8, 2026.
The email stated that the payment was “in relation to the agreed contractual work for the foundation phase of the residential construction project.”
While the correspondence did not specify the location of the project, it listed site preparation, excavation, footing construction, steelwork, concrete pouring, and all associated labour, materials and equipment required to complete the foundation works.
Dhanraj said GLOC also provided him with what appeared to be an invoice from NBR Contractors Services Ltd, dated April 2, 2026, outlining project costs of $280,000 plus 12.5 per cent VAT, bringing the total to $315,000.
On July 31, 2026, Dhanraj filed a complaint report with GLOC, requesting that the funds be restored to his IPI plan “as soon as possible.”
He said he is still awaiting a response.
“It has been one stress after the other in the last few weeks,” he said. “We put our money to work for us, not against us.”
Dhanraj subsequently reported the matter to the Fraud Squad’s South Office on August 24, 2026. According to the report, he alleged offences of forgery, uttering a forged document, and obtaining $320,000 by false pretences.
A third victim comes forward
A third alleged victim, a 69-year-old pensioner identified as Bedesh Mohan, and his wife Radica Mohan, also 69, say they lost more than half a million dollars through a series of transactions they insist they neither authorised nor knew about.
The couple initially invested $300,000 in an IPI account in 2023. In 2025, Bedesh, a retired Petrotrin operator, added a further $200,000 to the investment.
According to documents reviewed by Guardian Media, $350,000 was transferred from Radica’s IPI account to the GAM fund on June 6, 2024. Radica said she was unaware of the transaction and maintained that the signature used to authorise it was forged.
“I never signed that form,” she said.
Bedesh said the discovery left the couple devastated.
“You know, when this news was brought to our attention, if my heart wasn’t good, I would have collapsed in Guardian Life’s office,” he said.
Fighting back tears, the father of two described the emotional toll the matter has taken.
“You can’t stop thinking about it. It’s on your mind all the time.”
The couple further alleged that on July 9, 2024, the former agent created a fraudulent email account in their names and used it to communicate with Guardian Life, making it appear as though they had requested a $400,000 withdrawal.
One email stated:
“As we told you, we will like to make a cheque out to a company, please. Backpacks TT Ltd for $400,000. Please get this cheque for me quickly as we need this payment for our store.”
Documents obtained by Guardian Media showed that, on the same date, an Outgoing Third-Party Payment Request form purportedly bearing the couple’s signatures authorised the payment.
The Mohans, however, denied signing the document and said they have never owned or operated a bag business.
They also provided an invoice dated June 17, 2024, for $450,000 worth of 1,000 “Srayground packs in assorted styles,” linked to mobile number 681-9742 and a salesperson identified as Oma Samlal. Calls to the listed number this week went unanswered and were diverted to voicemail.
The couple said the situation worsened when the same alleged fake email account was used on December 8, 2025, to request the transfer of $87,000 to Jay Fraser, described in the email as their “niece.”
“Thank you for coming so quickly this morning as we called you, we really appreciate your quick assistance on a Sunday. Please do this request for us as soon as possible for request for emergency,” the email stated.
A Guardian Group redemption form dated December 7, 2025, showed what appeared to be the couple’s signatures authorising the transfer. The Mohans said they are not related to Fraser and insisted the signatures were not theirs.
Additional documents showed that another third-party payment request form, dated October 10, 2024, authorised a payment of $55,000 to Rawle Sahadeo, identified as the couple’s “nephew.”
The Mohans disputed that claim as well, saying Sahadeo is not a relative.
“When I see where the money gone, I started to feel cold, like I seize up. I does get emotional when I study these things,” Bedesh said.
“It really bothering me. It bothering both of us.”
Bedesh said that when he questioned the agent about the missing funds, he was repeatedly assured that his investments were secure.
“Your money is safe,” he recalled being told.
By the time the couple reviewed their accounts, they said less than $400 remained.
In total, the Mohans alleged that $542,000 was siphoned from their investments. They reported the matter to PC Jaikaran of the Fraud Squad’s San Fernando office on August 24, 2026, and submitted copies of the disputed signatures and emails to investigators.
Having worked at Petrotrin for 34 years, Bedesh said the funds represented the savings he had set aside for emergencies and healthcare in retirement.
“That was my little money I had saved if I ever get sick. I don’t want to end up in a public hospital and have to wait hours for medical care. Now we have nothing,” he said.
“We have to get back our money. That is all the money we have. We want the police to take action,” Radica added.
The Mohans are among three investors now seeking to recover funds they claim were withdrawn or transferred without their knowledge.
Customer concerns being addressed
Responding to questions from Guardian Media, GLOC president Samanta Saugh issued a one-page statement last Thursday acknowledging that concerns had been raised by customers.
“We can confirm that customer concerns have been raised and are being addressed in accordance with our internal protocols,” Saugh said.
The company also confirmed that the representative at the centre of the allegations is no longer contracted to GLOC.
“As a financial services organisation, we have a responsibility to safeguard our customers’ interests and protect the privacy and confidentiality of their personal and financial information. We are equally mindful of our confidentiality obligations in relation to employment and contractual matters involving individuals associated with the company,” the statement said.
“To preserve the integrity of any investigative and/or legal processes and to comply with our legal and confidentiality obligations, we are unable to disclose specific details, findings or actions relating to individual matters.”
Saugh said Guardian Life remains committed to protecting customers’ interests, maintaining high standards of integrity and ensuring that matters brought to the company’s attention are handled responsibly and appropriately.
Efforts by Guardian Media to contact the former agent turned state board director were unsuccessful.
On September 16, Guardian Media sent the former insurance representative a series of questions via WhatsApp regarding allegations raised by three GLOC clients. No response was received.
Search shows links
A search on the company’s registry of NBR Contractors Services Ltd by Guardian Media showed the company was incorporated on May 29, 2025, and listed the former agent as a director.
Jay Clara Fraser of Princes Town was also identified as the second director of the contracting firm.
The company’s address was School Street, Lum Tack Hill, Fyzabad.
