Fraud probe

POLICE HAVE LAUNCHED a major investigation into two lawyers accused of stealing several thousands of dollars from their clients.Reports indicated that the victims are Barbadians living overseas who were hoping to acquire properties as part of investments in their homeland.“We are indeed investigating matters where reports have been made alleging misappropriation of funds by the legal fraternity,” head of the Fraud Squad, Assistant Superintendent of Police John Maxwell, told the SATURDAY SUN yesterday.The Fraud Squad chief said that over the years his department had been receiving charges from overseas-based Barbadians and returning nationals about being duped by various people.Maxwell also said his department was probing several cases of credit card fraud and the uttering of bounced cheques to business places across the island.According to him, credit card fraudsters were targeting both local and non-nationals to carry out their illegal schemes, noting that in some instances investigators were trying to determine whether the culprits might be having access to information and creating computer designed cards to conduct their scam.Maxwell also pointed out that bounced cheques fraud was another area of concern for the department to the extent that some business places were now refusing personal cheques for transactions.“Whenever there is a recession people will try to satisfy their creditors, causing them to run into difficulties,” he said.“It is also important to all business people who are accepting cheques as payment for any transaction to have identification presented with them so as to determine the genuineness of the cheque,” Maxwell added.