He allegedly scammed more than $100,000 worth of boating equipment in one afternoon using fraudulent Government of Belize checks. But police say that may probably be only the tip of the iceberg for 29 year old Lino Herrera. The Dangriga resident was today charged Belize City with 12 forgery related charges. So how did he do it? And how did he get caught? That's what Keith Swift tried to find out.
Keith SwiftReporting,
Is this Government of Belize check the real thing? Well it is printed on special paper, it has the government of Belize letterhead, and it is stamped with an account number. It looks real but what you are looking at is actually a forged check. And police say that on Friday false checks like this one were used by this man - 29 year old Lino Herrera to buy more than $100,000 in expensive boat equipment. The first store he hit was William Quan on Albert Street.
Supt. Aaron Guzman, Commander - CIB
"There is a complaint from William Quan Store at the corner of Albert and Orange Street that someone had paid him some $33,000 with a government check that wasn't real or was fake or fraudulently signed. As a result, the police initiated an investigation and we also found out on the same date the
14th, the Suzuki dealer was also issued a check in the amount of $71,0000 which was also not good. They were purported to be government issued checks. Mr. Quan, whose check was supposedly to purchase two sixty horsepower Mercury outboard engines. We later recovered one of the 200 Suzuki in the Belama area. It was being prepared to be shipped off to Dangriga via a truck. The gentleman that does the trucking did cooperate with the police. It was in that area that Mr. Herrera was detained."
And the four engines he bought on Friday was in addition to 2 he had bought in September.
Supt. Aaron Guzman,
"When we backtracked we realized that on the 29th of September, Marelco was issued a check in the amount of some $16,000, purported to be a government check which was no good. That was for a 60HP Yamaha engine. So Mr. Herrera has been charged for that also."
This afternoon Hererra was charged for all three incidents - 12 charges in total. He hung his head in shame as police escorted him to the Magistrate's Court. CIB Chief Aaron Guzman says that Lino Herrera - the conman - was smooth talking.
Supt. Aaron Guzman,
"He was well dressed up, put together, well spoken, a smooth guy. He came in, he issued the checks, he gave a name, he showed some sort of identification, and he signed what he needed in the purported name and he just picked up the stuff casually and left."
Superintendent Guzman says the paper trail leads back to as early as June of this year and they plan to slap more charges on Lino Herrera.
Supt. Aaron Guzman, Commander - CIB
"We will be laying other charges against Lino Herrera for two other incidents, that is for H2Tech and for another gentleman who made a complaint that someone had received some computers from them that were paid with a government check, or purported to be a government check, that was not good. There are other investigations now throughout the country of Belize including Orange Walk, San Ignacio, and Belmopan where the same thing was done in relation to checks being issued."
Herrera was this evening charged for three counts each of obtaining property by deception, uttering upon a false
Document, possession of a false document, and claiming upon a false document. Bail was offered in the sum of $$50,000 which he met. The case was adjourned to January 21, 2008. And how can you protect yourself against such acts of fraud? The Accountant General's office sent out a release advising businesses to be vigilant. It noted that the government doesn't pay for over the counter purchases with checks. According to the release - it is done via purchase orders and the payment is then made directly into an account. The release ends by stressing that the Government of Belize will not be held liable for any fraudulent activity.
