BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - "I did not know the United States Postal Services International Postal Money Orders were counterfeit".
So said Nigeria national Baba Tunde Dami Lola Alonge as he gave evidence at his trial at the Basseterre High Court.
Alonge was charged with three counts of false pretence with intent to defraud, offences that were committed on April 1, 2 and 3, 2008.
Alonge, who was represented by Senior Counsel John Cato, testified that he came to St. Kitts on January 17, 2008 after being accepted by the now defunct St. Theresa's Medical University to pursue studies in medicine with the hope of becoming a medical doctor.
At that time, he said, he was 19 years old going on 20.
He testified that he was a member of a dating website, www.caribsingles.com, and that it was through this website he was contacted by someone by the name of Rodney Welsh.
The accused said that Welsh messaged him asking if he was interested in a part-time job and that he should reply with his name, address and contact number which he did.
"Two days later I got a call from Rodney Welsh on my cell phone and he said he was the General Manager of an engineering company in Brooklyn. He said the company buys raw materials from all over the world and that I would be an agent to assist with payments," Alonge testified.
The medical student said that Welsh explained that he would be chosen for a trial transaction and that he [Welsh] sent him one United States Postal Services International Postal Money Order valuing US $700 through FedEx.
"I was told to cash the Money Order and send it to Satina Harris in Chicago. When I got the Money Order it was the first time I saw one; it looked like a cheque so I took it to the bank that I used which was the Royal Bank of Canada (CIBCRBC) and I deposited it on my account and the cashier said it would take six weeks to clear so I went back home," Alonge said.
Alonge said that Welsh called him the same day and when he [Alonge] explained what transpired, Welsh told him that he should have taken the Money Order to the Post Office where he would have gotten instant cash.
The accused said Welsh sent another Money Order for the same amount the following day, and he [Alonge] took it to the General Post Office in Basseterre after leaving school on the same day.
He said when he handed the Money Order to the cashier, she asked for identification to which he gave her his Nigerian passport as well as his school ID.
"The cashier checked my ID, she asked me to sign the back of the Money Order and she gave me EC$1855. I went straight to Western Union and sent the money to Satina Harris in Chicago and went home. That was in March," he said.
Alonge testified that the next day Welsh called him and said "I got the money" and that the raw materials had been paid for. He was then instructed to wait for the next transaction.
He said that after a few weeks Welsh sent five more US Money Orders and that he took all of them to the General Post Office in Basseterre but the cashier explained that he could only cash one per day as the cashing limit was US$700 and each Money Order was for that exact amount.
"So I cashed one every day for five days until I cashed all. After everything was completed, I sent the money to Satina Harris in Chicago," he said.
He testified that some four weeks after, he received a call from CIBCRBC and was asked to come in to the Bank and that upon reaching there, he learnt that the US Money Order he had deposited a few weeks before was counterfeit.
"They then charged my account and closed it. That is when I learned that the whole thing was a scam," he said.
The medical student said that he went immediately to the then Dean of the Medical University and explained what happened but could not get any advice as the Dean knew nothing about US Money Orders so he went back home.
He then testified that two weeks after the same Dean told him that the General Post Office called the University stating that one of the students brought false US Money Orders there and that the matter was reported to the police.
"As soon as I got to know this, the Chief Security Officer of the school took me to the police station. This was the end of April. We went to the Criminal Investigation Department where we met Corporal Browne. He asked me what I knew about the US Money Orders," Alonge testified.
Alonge said that Corporal Browne took his statement and the information about Welsh and he was then given permission to leave.
He told the Court that Browne contacted him one week later and explained that he had called Welsh but was unsuccessful in gathering information.
Alonge said he contacted the United States International Postal Services, explained the situation and was asked to send all documents he had in his possession through postal mail, which he did.
He said that he was formally arrested and charged after one month.
The accused also said that he tried to make restitution but was denied the opportunity to do so.
At cross examination, it was revealed that Alonge had kept the money from the US Money Orders he cashed on April 1, 2, and 3. He testified that that was his payment from the three transactions he did in March.
When asked by Junior Counsel Garth Wilkin if he saw no problem with money coming to St. Kitts from the Unites States (US) to be sent back to the US, Alonge replied in the negative, stating that at the time, he did not know that Chicago was a part of the US.
He also stressed that he did give Browne all information regarding Welsh, and he admitted that he neglected to put in his initial statement to the police that he had kept a portion of the money that he received from the Post Office.
Alonge stated that he saw nothing wrong with being paid EC$5565 for simply doing a few transactions.
Alonge also testified that he neither researched Welsh nor the engineering company before accepting the job offer.
The case continued with closing arguments from the prosecution and the defense followed by the summary of His Lordship Justice Errol Thomas.
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