Man charged for defrauding lover thousands of dollars

by Linda Straker

• Jude Sylvester Joseph was reported missing in March 2019
• Returned home a few days after missing person report was published
• Allegedly bilked a woman of approximately $71,000 in cash

In March 2019, Jude Sylvester Joseph was reported missing. January 2020 found him as an inmate in the remand sector of the Richmond Hill Prison after he was charged with fraud and money laundering.

Police charged the Mt Rush, St George resident with Fraud by False Pretense and Money Laundering, and though these are bailable offences he had to be remanded to Her Majesty’s Prisons because no one was willing to come forward and post bail.

“The charges were laid against Jude Sylvester Joseph of Mt Rush, St George after he allegedly bilked a woman of approximately $71,000 in cash between 1 January 2019 and 30 September 2019. He was taken into police custody and charged on 9 January 2020,” said a police report.

Joseph appeared at the Grenville Magistrate’s Court on Friday, 10 January 2020 and was granted bail in the sum of EC$100,000 with two sureties. He will return to court on 27 January 2020.

It is understood that Joseph who had returned home a few days after the missing person report was published, was able to deceive an intimate partner about a medical condition involving his mother whom he claimed has a terminal ailment and was receiving treatment on a neighbouring island.

The young lady lent him more than EC$70,000 and he is refusing to repay the sum which she had loaned from a close relative. The matter was reported to the police and while conducting investigations into the matter it was discovered that Joseph continuously provided false information to the young lady as part of his bilking plan.