A woman is behind bars after pleading guilty to over 10 counts of fraud.
Latoya Seymour, 44, was yesterday formally charged before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle-Davis on 11 counts of fraud by false pretenses.
It is alleged that over the course of two weeks, the accused, obtained $8,440 from 15 people.
The court heard how this month alone, Seymour told the victims she was an employee at either Albany or Lyford Cay and had access to a large number of furniture and appliances that she would have first bid before being auctioned.
The accused even allegedly showed the people photographs of the items which included, televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, stoves, bedroom, living room and dining room sets.
According to the information revealed in court, after Seymour collected the money, she promised the items would be delivered to the people.
However, she made excuses for not following through, alleging she was having car problems.
When the victims demanded a refund, Seymour allegedly promised to do so, but failed to reimburse the cash.
The defendant admitted she had lied, charging that she was desperate to pay off a very large bill.
She further told the magistrate she was not going to waste the court’s time and that if given the opportunity, she would try her best to repay those persons.
When asked by the magistrate why she hadn’t done this initially, she said she didn’t know, adding that her place of employment – a local bar and grill – was under renovations and had just reopened a few weeks ago.
When questioned about the money she had received, Seymour said she used it to pay bills.
The magistrate noted that because her actions was a planned scheme that netted 15 people, a penalty should be imposed.
Seymour then was sentenced to The Bahamas Department of Corrections for 2 years on 5 counts and 2 months on 6 counts.
The magistrate noted that the penalty was reduced, rather than 5 years total Seymour would have gotten, because of the early guilty plea.
The defendant has a previous conviction for an unrelated matter.
