Peter Ramcharran, the former accountant of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), who is serving a three years sentence for fraud was on Friday morning rushed to the hospital after he fell down the court chute at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Ramcharran, who has other matters before the court, appeared before the Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan and while coming down the court chute, it is alleged that he fell down the poorly-lit staircase. At the time, he was shackled at the hands and feet.
The incident reportedly occurred around 9:25 hours. Officers who were stationed at the court rushed to Ramcharran’s aid. By the time they got to him, he was unconscious and was bleeding from his left eye.
The officers, led by an Inspector, alerted the paramedics while they revived Ramcharran. The officers managed to use Ramcharran’s jersey to stop the bleeding.
When the paramedics arrived, Ramcharran’s wounds were tended to and he was rushed to a City hospital.
Officers claimed that Ramcharran is a diabetic and his blood sugar was low at the time which caused him to lose his balance while coming down the court steps.
On February 11, Ramcharran was sentenced to three years imprisonment for falsification of $145M from the GRDB.
The sentence was imposed by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan who found Ramcharran guilty of one count of falsification of accounts.
The charge stated that between 2011-2015, at Lot 16-17 Cowan Street, Kingston, at the GRDB head office, while being a clerk or servant, Ramcharran omitted to enter some $145 million in the GRDB ledger.
Ramcharran was represented by attorneys-at-law Nigel Hughes, Ronald Daniels and Sophia Findlay.
The former Accountant was slapped with 39 charges in March 2019 of which one charge was withdrawn.
He still has 37 charges against him ongoing before the court.
Ramcharran has four more charges of a similar nature for omitting to enter some $269 million in the GRDB ledger. These matters were adjourned to February 28, before the Chief Magistrate.
Additionally, the Chief Magistrate is dealing with 16 other charges against Ramcharran who is accused of colluding with former General Manager of the GRDB Jagnarine Singh and his deputy Madanlall Ramraj to omit entries into the entity’s ledger.
The charges alleged that Ramcharran omitted to enter over $4.2 M into the ledger, knowing that it was contrary to standard operating procedures between 2011 and 2012.
Ramcharran also has 17 charges of keeping fraudulent accounts; this is being heard by Magistrate Sherdel Isccas-Marcus.
The charges alleged that Ramcharran fraudulently took $5.1M or converted the money to his own use and benefit, or any use and purpose, other than that of the GRDB between January 11, 2010, and July 17, 2012.
The SOCU managed to extradite Ramcharran from Canada to face the charges in March 2019.
