Fraudster, wife jailed 517 years
SPECIAL BENCH HEARING EXENTIAL FRAUD CASE SENTENCES ACCUSED TO A YEAR EACH IN 513 CASES AND TWO YEARS IN EACH OF TWO CASES
They swindled thousands of people in a multi-million-dollar ponzi scam
The Dubai Misdemeanours Court on Sunday sentenced two Indian men to 517 years in jail each for swindling thousands of victims in a multi-million-dollar fraud case.
Dr Mohammad Hanafi, presiding judge of the special bench, also sentenced the wife of one of the accused to 517 years in absentia. She remains at large.
The accused — Exential owner Sydney Lemos, his wife Valany and Ryan D’Souza — were convicted in the 515 cases filed against them and as per the judgement were sentenced to one year in jail each in 513 cases and two years in jail for the remaining two cases.
It took presiding judge Dr Hanafi up to 10 minutes to read out the judgement in courtroom three, where many victims were present in addition to the defence lawyer.
Prosecutors had accused the defendants of swindling and deception and referred the case to the special panel on October 31. The first hearing took place on December 25 last year and the trial concluded with the sentencing on Sunday. The ruling remains subject to appeal.
A series of investigative reports by XPRESS, a sister publication of Gulf News, exposed the scam last year. Exential had disguised a Ponzi scheme as a legitimate foreign currency trading programme.
Recovery of funds
Meanwhile, a UAE lawyer representing a group of victims said the ruling may help recover some of his clients’ money.
Atty Barney Almazar, director of Gulf Law, is working with the Philippine Embassy to assist victims. He is the advocate of a number of Filipinos who invested in Exential. Many victims, including a group of 90 people, lost their retirement and life savings while others took loans to be able to invest.
“The court decision of more than 500 years’ imprisonment sends a very strong message to the public that Dubai is not taking financial crimes lightly,” Almazar told Gulf News.
“This judgement can be used to support the victims’ civil claims and efforts in locating the assets of the company. The decision will be acceptable in foreign jurisdictions. In any criminal act, the fruits of the crime will be forfeited. Of course, there is a process and this is not a guarantee,” Almazar said.
Reactions
Some victims, who spoke with Gulf News yesterday, voiced some degree of satisfaction with the ruling.
“The news is overwhelming. Justice has been served. He [Exential chief Sydney Lemos] has to pay for what he did to us. The fact that he can no longer leave Dubai is well and good for us,” Gerry Sandique, 52, a technical consultant and one of the complainants against Lemos, said.
Sandique invested $50,000 (Dh183,500) from his savings and also took a personal loan with his wife in November 2015.
“What we want now is to recover our investments. There are people who have lost hope, but we still hope to get our money back,” he added.
Another investor, Yuri Cipriano, a safety engineer, said: “This is a good development for all of us, but our main concern is getting back our investments. We hope the court could help give us formal guidance on
how to do this. We know people who have won cases in court against Lemos, but have not received anything till now.”
Cipriano had invested $50,000 plus the income it had generated for a total of $60,000.
“This money was intended for our house project. I’ve always wanted to get my master’s degree but I can’t right now.”
Many victims also worked for Emirates airline.
An employee who invested $125,000 in five accounts said Exential owners did not just steal money, but also wrecked the lives of many investors.
“It’s been two years since all this broke out and although we’re still hopeful, there’s no assurance from anyone that we will get our money back,” the 30-year-old investor said.
He has also filed a civil case against Lemos and is awaiting the court decision. “In all the hearings in the past year, not once did his lawyers appear. All we want is what is due to us.”