Cash Plus trial stalled again
A PROSECUTOR yesterday revealed that a number of witnesses in the fraud case against former Cash Plus boss Carlos Hill cannot be located.
The admission came in the Home Circuit Court yesterday where Hill’s trial was again postponed, eight years after he was charged in connection with the collapse of the investment scheme.
Prosecutor Leighton Morris said that, with the exception of Assistant Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey, investigators are finding it difficult to locate other witnesses and asked High Court judge, Justice Sarah Thompson James, for subpoenas that would compel them to come forward. Thompson James granted the request. The trial was set to start yesterday, but has now been pushed back to May 22 next year.
In 2012, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions indicated in court that it was ready to start the trial and would be relying on nine witnesses.
However, prosecutors explained that the deputy director of public prosecutions who is assigned to the case was not available because she was engaged in another trial.
The latest delay triggered a warning from Thompson James.
“It is expected that the Crown will put up what it has and we see where we go from there,” she stressed.
Deborah Martin, one of the attorneys representing Hill, also requested that the case be treated as priority.
Hill is charged with fraudulently inducing persons to invest in Cash Plus, the multibillion-dollar scheme that collapsed in 2008 after five years of existence.