Independent Liberal Party (ILP) leader Jack Warner claims he has been conned out of $60,000 by former ILP member Nigel Maharaj, an outpatient of the St Ann’s Hospital.
Warner made the disclosure nine days after Maharaj was thrown out of an ILP Rio Claro meeting by police officers where he claimed that the former Fifa vice president had refused to hand over a deed to a four-acre parcel of land at San Pedro, Poole, belonging to him.
Maharaj believes that Warner was interested in purchasing the land, which he thinks will play an integral role in the construction of the San Fernando to Mayaro highway.
“Warner took advantage of me. I want him to make a jail. I trusted him. I am hurt and sad. Warner and I were real close. They are bringing me to violence. I see no hope in living,” Maharaj said on Wednesday.
Maharaj is unable to see in his left eye or hear in his left ear. He produced a medical report dated January 8, 2010, from the Psychiatric Department of the San Fernando Hospital which shows that he has had several admissions and a history of drug abuse.
He collects a $1,500 a month disability grant.
On Friday, in the presence of his attorney Tristan Bonterre, Warner denied that he tried to swindle Maharaj out of his land.
Instead, Warner said, he was the victim having been “conned” of $60,000 by Maharaj.
“My emotions got the better of me. I felt sorry for Nigel because he came from Rio Claro where I grew up. His house was falling down and I promised to help him.”
Asked if this was the first time he had been conned, Warner replied yes.
Bonterre said Maharaj came to Warner for money to repurchase a five-acre parcel of land which he had sold to a businessman for $50,000.
He said the selling price of the land was $132,000, which Warner offered to loan him.
Bonterre said Warner loaned Maharaj $60,000 in increments over a period of time. In return, Maharaj signed a promissory note on March 10, 2015, stating that if he failed to maintain the agreement an additional payment of $100,000 shall be forwarded to him and his security, the four-acre parcel of land proffered in the form of a Certificate of Title Volume 4926 folio 428, shall be forfeited.
“Nigel agreed to use his four-acre parcel as security since we were going to give him all this money.”
Shortly after, Bonterre said, Maharaj claimed Warner took his original deed.
“We gave him back his deed after we made photocopies. We can’t do anything with his deed anyhow. We cannot sell nor transfer the land.”
Bonterre said red flags were raised when Maharaj brought a bundle of documents to him, which came from an attorney’s office.
“In examining the documents, I discovered that Maharaj obtained the land [he used as security] through a power of attorney and not through an inheritance as originally stated, which was revoked by a family member. That’s when we called off the deal.”
Bonterre said they later discovered that Maharaj did not make a downpayment on the five-acre parcel of land as promised, but instead took out a new insurance on his vehicle, bought tyres and repaid some debts, which Maharaj confessed to doing when he spoke to the Sunday Guardian.
On March 25, Maharaj paid a lawyer $2,000 to obtain a caveat, which is a document lodged against a title to land by an interested party that no action is to be taken in relation to that title until that party’s interest has been taken into account.
On April 1, Bonterre said, Warner signed a letter stating that he was not interested in purchasing any property belonging to Maharaj and the $60,000 that was advanced to him was not for repayment, which Maharaj endorsed.