Eight more charges leveled against two brokers accused of massive scam at the Customs Department; committal proceedings set for September

Rowan Matthew and Foston George, the two brokers implicated in a wide-
ranging scam involving the Customs Department, faced further charges earlier
this week, with their committal proceedings set for September 30.
 
Matthew, a resident of Judges Hill Estate, and George, who resides at Pares
Village, were jointly charged with eight new offences, committed under the
Electronic Crimes Act.
 
They appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Dexter Wason in the St. John’s
Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, June 11, charged with two counts of
conspiracy to defraud; two counts of cheating public revenue; two counts of
making false declarations; and two counts of electronic forgery – all of which
mirror previous charges.
 
These offences, allegedly committed in 2017, involve a sum of $30,805.
 
Since these matters are indictable, they must be tried in the High Court.
However, the lower court granted both men bail – again – in the amount of
$30,000, with a cash deposit of $10,000, and two sureties.
 
Their reporting condition – that they report to the police station every Friday,
between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. – remains in place. Additionally, the magistrate
ruled that their passports would remain with the court.
 
Matthew and George are alleged to have used duty-free concession codes from
the Government to avoid paying taxes and pocketed money paid in by their
clients.
 

They also face joint charges with two female customs officers, Joesine
Christian and Jeanette Browne, along with other cases pending in the High
Court, all stemming from this alleged Customs scam.