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No charges have been laid against three men who were arrested on Tuesday for attempting to defraud the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and its contractors.
Newsday spoke to Police PRO Michelle Lewis in a brief WhatsApp chat and she said investigations were ongoing.
On April 29, the suspects, purporting to be HDC employees, presented fraudulent documents to two HDC contractors, who gave them a cheque in return despite suspecting their document to be fraudulent.
On April 30, the men conducted a transaction at a bank and were contacted by HDC officials to revisit the HDC Port of Spain head office with the promise of getting more funds.
A statement sent on April 30 said the men returned with fraudulent documents bearing the forged signature of HDC managing director Jayselle McFarlane.
The head of security at HDC was given the documents, who in turn alerted police that were already on the compound.
The two men were arrested by officers and a third man was arrested in the company’s car park while waiting in a parked vehicle.
Housing Minister Camille Robinson-Regis expressed disappointment over the attempted deception, which she said could have sullied the corporation’s reputation.
She and HDC chairman Noel Garcia praised HDC’s head of security and the police for their role in the arrests.
HDC managing director Jayselle McFarlane said she was appalled by the incident and expressed concern about her signature being fraudulently used.
McFarlane reminded contractors to only conduct financial transactions at HDC buildings and stressed that all business deals initiated by HDC were done at its offices.
The statement said it had seen an increase over the past few weeks in the resurgence of fraudsters attempting to swindle hopeful homeowners who claimed they could provide HDC homes in return for cash.
