Land fraudsters ripping people off and the government

_{Photo: Hon. Cordel Hyde – Minister of Natural Resources, Petroleum and Mining}

BELIZE CITY, Wednesday. June 12, 2024

When Ricardo Borja was murdered on August 19, 2023, his murder quickly took on more ominous overtones when it emerged that he was a skilled land consultant who worked with other real estate partners, and that he had recorded alleged testimonies just days before his murder. about a massive land fraud dating back to at least 2019. It’s been almost ten months since those reports emerged (immediately after his death), and his name is now back in the news due to the emergence of anecdotal reports that someone he was said to be talking to business associates, 43-year-old Darren “Dalla Coin” Taylor is also dead. In his recording, Borja had even mentioned Taylor as playing an important role in their work. Taylor was murdered in April this year while at his home in Dangriga. Police found $3,000 on him, indicating theft was not the motive. At the time, police said it appeared he had been killed over a business deal involving land.

Based on his observations of the transactions and putting two and two together, Borja described the land fraud committed. According to Borja, it started with false wills drawn up for deceased landowners whose estate had not yet been settled. He stated that he never questioned the validity of the grant of administration of the deceased’s land going to someone other than the legal heir, as he believed that they had gone through the proper legal process, rather than there being was of fraud by court personnel.

Borja said they even created fake passports and land titles – a process he said he did not participate in. At the time, Immigration Minister Eamon Courtenay told Amandala: ‘I was told from other sources that the passports he was referring to were fake, non-Belizean passports – dead Americans, dead British, passports for foreigners. These were foreign land sales for which they presented false passports.” It has since become clear that the targeted land was owned by deceased foreigners.

Asked about the latest developments, including Taylor’s death, Minister of Natural Resources, Hon. Cordel Hyde grimly noted today: “It’s scary to think that people have died that may be related to these things. You’re dealing with a different level of opportunism and a different level of criminality and a completely different level of evil. And I don’t know that you can necessarily liquidate that, that you can destroy that in the shortest possible time. The Minister acknowledged the importance of putting in place regulations and structures to deal with real estate agents who “… have had free rein for the longest time, and these guys are so-called land agents, and they also pretend to be lawyers and financial experts… and they are very smart, very flexible and very clever, because they can convince very rich people to get rid of their money.”

In addition to cooperating with authorities, Hyde says his ministry has also conducted their own internal investigation since Borja’s death. He reported that in the case of Borja’s firm, JC Consulting, almost 80% of the more than 300 transactions they initiated at the Land Registry were never completed. The minister noted: “Through that process they are able to get the relevant compensation, the relevant dues that need to be paid, but they don’t come back!” According to the report, the fraudsters collected stamp duty from the intended buyer, but the money was pocketed and therefore never reached the Lands Department. Hyde described it as “…a fraud against those persons; it is fraud against the state… Many of these people are left without money for hundreds of thousands of dollars and cannot get their assets. They show up at the Lands Department believing they have paid all relevant fees and come to collect their land papers. Instead, they have to start the process all over again, without receiving any compensation for the loss of their savings.

COMPOL says BPD has set up a fraud unit

Minister Cordel Hyde says Belize Police are in almost weekly contact with the Lands Department to review files in an effort to continue their investigation. However, he noted that they may need to consider hiring a special prosecutor or investigator as these activities cannot be considered mundane.

When asked earlier this week about the complexity of investigating this type of white-collar crime, Police Commissioner Chester Williams said they are in the process of setting up a fraud unit within the force. However, they need to coordinate it with the work of the Financial Intelligence Unit to ensure there is no overlap. They were expected to work together.