Raffique Skerritt has been found guilty of obtaining money by false pretences following his involvement in a fraudulent scheme that defrauded a Syrian national of $300,000 between June and July 2019.
The court heard that Skerritt exploited a Syrian citizen with limited English skills, falsely claiming he was owed money by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHAPA). He promised to repay the $300,000 loan with interest and additionally provide the victim with a house and land.
Skerritt’s fraudulent activities stemmed from an earlier housing development scheme. In 2018, he had approached CHAPA proposing that his company build 70 houses using Baupanel-style construction technology under a $16 million contract. However, trial evidence revealed that the Intellectual Property Registrar confirmed this company never existed.
While CHAPA’s then-chairman initially showed interest, a new executive board later reduced the scope to a trial project of 10 houses worth $1.6 million. Construction commenced in early 2019 after an initial $800,000 disbursement in December 2018.
Since the non-existent company lacked a bank account, Skerritt channeled the funds through his attorney. By May 2019, he had received $1.59 million in total but failed to complete the houses within the agreed four-month deadline. Site inspections revealed substandard work, though payments were approved by CHAPA’s chairman, who was Skerritt’s friend.
In June 2019, Skerritt befriended the complainant and discussed his CHAPA work. He requested a $300,000 loan, offering $150,000 in interest plus a house and land in return. To support his claim of being owed $800,000 by CHAPA, Skerritt arranged for the complainant to visit the CHAPA chairman’s residence, where the chairman verified Skerritt was indeed owed money.
Despite this confirmation, the complainant’s friend expressed concerns and suggested additional safeguards. These included a life insurance policy naming the complainant as beneficiary. Skerritt took the complainant to sign what he claimed was a life insurance form, but police later determined it was merely an incomplete application form.
The friend also recommended drafting a contract. Skerritt’s attorney, a senior lawyer, prepared the agreement based on Skerritt’s information. The contract stipulated repayment with interest within 90 days, plus provision of a house and land. However, it was executed in the name of the same non-existent company.
When the 90-day period expired without repayment, the complainant contacted Skerritt, who requested an extension and did not repay the loan.
Meanwhile, despite receiving a ministerial extension, Skerritt failed to deliver the CHAPA houses. The partially built units were deemed structurally unsound, leading to his dismissal from the project.
Following his arrest, Skerritt admitted to police that he was neither a contractor nor had prior housing development experience. He claimed he had planned to subcontract the work.
The prosecution argued that Skerritt used his relationship with CHAPA’s chairman to commit fraud. The defense contended the matter was civil in nature due to the existing contract, but the court determined the deception was deliberate and criminal.
Justice Ann Marie Smith delivered the guilty verdict, with sentencing scheduled for July 3.
This is a serious outcome for Raffique Skerritt.
Oh My Gosh!!!!!
I CANNOT Believe WHAT I Am Reading in THIS Article …..
How EASY It Is To “Fool off” (as Old People would say) Persons in High Offices on Our Government Established Boards ….. e.g. This (Particular) Chairman Of CHAPA!!!
This Chairman couldn’t carry out an investigation of the Work Done BEFORE Disbursing The Second Half of THE TOTAL AMOUNT to THIS FRAUDSTER??? This Chairman Of CHAPA’s Board Should ALSO be PENALIZED…….. SHAME SHAME SHAME on The ENTIRE CHAPA BOARD!!!!
………. Folks, Can You NOW BEGIN To Imagine WHAT could PROBABLY be Happening In Some of THESE Government Appointed Boards, As We Read THIS Article about Mr. Raffique Skerritt????
Reading THIS Article makes Me VERY CONCERNED About The Prime Minister’s INSTRUCTIONS to The ATTORNEY GENERAL to BEGIN Changing THE LAWS Of Our SOCIAL SECURITY SCHEME in Order To ACCOMMODATE His Immediate Plans For The JOLLY BEACH Hotel …..
………. “WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP MY SLEEPING COUNTRY……🎼🎹🎸🪗🎤. Wake Up, Wake Up ……. RISE AND SHINE!!!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!!
WAKE UP BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE ……. To Push Back …….🥲😢😰🇦🇬
The chairman and the lawyer were all complicit. They knew Raffique was unqualified for this project and went ahead. Corrupt.
This is exactly why public trust in housing projects is so low. How could CHAPA not verify the existence of this man’s company before handing over taxpayer money? He even scammed a vulnerable person who didn’t even speak the language well, heartless and calculated.
Money is a thing we don’t make joke with. How can CHAPA sign a contract with someone and not verify his company? No documentation of the existence of his company or nothing
Friend and company
This is exactly why I am against the government messing with social security. Thete is not enough due diligence or oversight when it comes to other people’s money…..and don’t even talk about greed.
Everybody involved in this mafia movie mist be failed. Syrian. Charpa. Lawyer. WTH. I can’t believe what I just read. I hope the Syrian man is jailed. And then deported. We’ll well welllll. What a thing!
Sounds like the former Chapa chairman was in on it too
Wow, a warning about the pitfalls of trying to start a business without adequate relevant experience. Possibly he didn’t originally intend to commit fraud. Maybe he thought he could get in on the housing action by starting a company etc. and assumed it was easy to build houses but then did not know how to find properly trained workers. This is why people often need to stay in their own lane until they acquire enough experience to cross lanes. Don’t assume you know how to do a job well in a field that you have no substantial experience in. For something as important as a government housing project, only sufficiently trained and experienced persons should be used. Lots of us have great ideas of businesses that could be done, but really training and experience are needed for a successful process. He should have also properly registered his company at least once he was awarded the contract. And, of course, he should not have attempted to defraud the gentleman in the article.
hope you put it to good use because…a jail you a go..you can help Dem build a new one