Cash Plus Boss Denied Bail!

200601 court room
Originally uploaded by superciliousness

Yesterday, Cash Plus' Chairman, Carlos Hill and his brother, Bertram Hill, were denied bail...when they appeared in the Half-Way-Tree Resident Magistrate Court.

Cash Plus Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Peter Wilson was however released on JMD $5 million bail.

(All three were charged on Tuesday for conspiracy to defraud and fraudulent conversion of funds.)

As I watched the news last night, what I found to be interesting is the contrasting stories from both news stations,re the Cash Plus clients who were demonstrating outside the Court House.

Television Jamaica (TVJ) focused on the plight of Cash Plus Clients, especially the Jamaican  lady who had come down from New York to see the proceedings...she had mortgaged her house and invested the USD $300,000 she received into Cash Plus...she's owing on the house, can't pay her bills, so is anxious to know when she'll get back her money.

While CVM Television focused on Cash Plus clients' support for Mr. Hill. They reported that these clients are hopeful that Mr. Hill will be released soon so that they can get their monies back. That these clients feel that while he's behind bars, he cannot enact plans to begin payment of their monies.

Meanwhile, the police claim they are remanding Carlos Hill for his own security...they don't feel he's safe being released.

They also claim that his release at this time will interfere with ongoing investigations of fraud and into his assets.

Well of course Mr. Hill's lawyers (Valerie Neita-Robertson and Churchill Neita) were in total disagreement with this and claimed that if the police had hard evidence against their client, they should have argued this in court versus holding that press conference on Monday, April 15, 2008.

A press conference that they claim will obviously create bias when a hearing is actually held.

Well all Jamaica is anxiously awaiting the results of the Organized Crime investigation Division of the Jamaican Constabulary Force in to the assets of Mr. Hill...

USD $7 billion, dollars is nothing to sneeze at...and over 40,000 Cash Plus clients will continue to face sever economic hardship, if the US $450 million (JMD$ 32 billion) owed, is not recovered.

Hmmmh!

Friends, please allow me to make two statements here, in relation to the choices you make in investing your monies.

1) Please invest your money carefully...try to throughly investigate companies, before you invest with them. This includes banks.

You work too hard and smart for your money, to throw it away.

2) Please ensure that when you are accepting financial advice, that it is from people who are qualified to give it.

Think,long term, before you act!

Nuff said! (Jamaican meaning, enough has been said!)

Gillian

Sources Include:

1) Television Jamaica News at 7:00 p.m., April 17, 2008

2) CVM Television News at 8:00 p.m., April 17, 2008