San F'do attorney appears in PoS court on fraud charges

THE day after he appeared in the San Fernando court on fraud-related charges, attorney Ravi Gooljar made his first court appearance in the Port of Spain magistrates’ court on the same charges, earlier today.

Gooljar, 59, of Gulf View, La Romaine, who has 33 years in practice, has been charged with fraud relating to non-payment of stamp duties involving land and property transactions.

On Tuesday, he appeared before senior magistrate Cherril-Ann Antoine, who read to him a charge that on May 14, 2014, at the Registrar General Office, Port of Spain, he uttered a deed which bore a false stamp-duty stamp for $55,750 purported to have been paid on a property valued $2.8 million.

On the same day, he is alleged to have committed the same act in relation to payment of $222,554 on a $4.2 million property.

Antoine read another charge to Gooljar that he cheated the public revenue of $48,250 in stamp duty on a $1.8 million property.

Those charges were again read out to him when he appeared before magistrate Marissa Gomez in the Port of Spain First Court.

His actual court appearance was brief and lasted less than five minutes.

Gooljar is represented by attorney Charlene Kalloo.