Canouan man on fraud charges granted $50,000 bail

Bail of $50,000 was granted yesterday in relation to countless fraud charges laid against a Canouan man in the Serious Offences Court.

Victor Mitchell was charged with dozens of counts of fraud, which occurred between the dates July 13 and November 6, 2017, towards the Kingstown Co-operative Credit Union (KCCU).

Mitchell was charged with making and using a false instrument namely a withdrawal slip for the accounts of credit union customers in Canouan and made out to certain amounts in the hundred and thousands of dollars.

The defendant is alleged to have intended to trick the KCCU into believing that the withdrawal slips were genuine and use this false belief to commit an act that would prejudice the credit union.

Mitchell, who worked as a security guard for the KCCU, is said to have fraudulently obtained an amount of around $44,900.

When the defendant was first charged in court last week he was remanded in custody, based on the fact that investigations were continuing. Yesterday, he was brought back to court with four further fraud charges against the institution, but this time bail was open to him.

Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias granted bail in the amount of $50,000 with one surety and imposed reporting conditions, wherein the defendant is to report to the Canouan Police Station three times weekly on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The charge was indictably laid against Mitchell and the preliminary inquiry is set to start on March 27, 2018.