UPDATED: August 9, 2010
This article has spiked in the last day as hundreds of searchers are being directed to Barbados Free Press through a Google search for “Ramchand RAMNARINE“.
Mr. Ramnarine is one of the Directors of the Florida company “B. A. Management Services, Inc.” that is associated with the fraudulent Florida land deal described in this article.
We can find no recent news stories online that would explain the sudden interest in Mr. Ramnarine, but several hundred people apparently experienced the urge to Google his name in the last 24 hours.
Can any of our readers tell us why Mr. Ramnarine is generating such interest?
Original article…
Barbados Free Press Turns Up TWO NEW Companies – One Registered Feb 2009 – Possibly Involved & Not Yet Known To Fraud Investigators!
Court documents sent to Barbados Free Press reveal that a CL Financial Group company involved in a US$300 million dollar Florida land deal – paid more than market value for the land. This happened because the seller of the land provided “incentives” (read “secret commissions”, “bribes” or “gifts”) to company insiders in return for having CL Financial Group purchase the land for more than it was worth.
The court documents do not say how much extra CL Financial Group company paid for the Florida land over the true value, but even a 1% overpayment would be US$3 million dollars. Or… perhaps the overpayment was not one percent, but ten or twenty percent or more? In that case, the overpayment could be in the tens of millions US$.
Astounding Allegation Is Made By CL Financial Corporate Partner
What is absolutely astounding is that the allegation that company insiders took “incentives” is being made by a CL Financial Group corporate partner.
Both British American Insurance Company Limited and British American Isle of Venice (BVI) Ltd. are defendants in a civil suit launched on February 19, 2009 by the seller of the land, Green Island Holdings LLC. (Background article by T&T Guardian: British American Sued For US$38m)
Brian Branker is Chairman of British American Insurance Company Limited as well as a director of British American Isle of Venice (BVI) Ltd.. The allegation of “incentives” appears in a document filed by the lawyers for British American Isle of Venice (BVI) Ltd..
“… the Plaintiff fraudulently induced Isle of Venice to enter into the transaction through improprieties such as incentives paid to insiders that resulted in a purchase price in excess of market value.”
… from Document 15, paragraph 36, filed April 7, 2009: United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, Case No. 09-80207-CIV-Marra/Johnson
More Than One Insider Took “Incentives” To Have CL Financial Group Pay More Than The Land Was Worth
“Incentives paid to insiders…” is plural. Multiple incentives were given to multiple insiders to induce the suckered buyers (that would be CL Financial & friends) to pay way more for the land than it was worth.
A land deal worth a third of a billion US$ dollars and CL Financial never thought to maybe get a second or third independent opinion on the value of the land?
Oh well… thanks to the Governments of Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and perhaps a few others those Captains of the financial industry at CL Financial are now playing with your tax dollar bailouts. Just makes you feel secure, doesn’t it?
UPDATED: Tuesday, June 2, 2009 9:00pm Bridgetown (Section Updated: Barbados Free Press Digs Deeper)
Court Documents Filed In US$38 Million Florida Land Fraud Case
Barbados Free Press Digs Deeper
We can’t even pretend to explain how every piece fits into the story, but we have a feeling that some of our readers might be able to come up with a few theories! Not to mention that our enquiries have turned up a newly-registered Florida company that (so far) has not appeared in any other news story.
First, let’s consider some of the known corporations, people and addresses that have appeared in the news stories…
British American Insurance Company Limited
According to a Wall Street Journal web resource featuring the Steve Marchant’s Offshore Alert Newsletter DOWNLOAD PDF, the British American Insurance Company Limited is a Bahamas-domiciled company that is part of the CL Financial Group.
Brian Branker is the Chairman and Robert Fullerton is a Director. (Remember those names folks!)
The Offshore Alert newsletter also states that the address of the British American Insurance Company Limited is given as…
c/o BA Management Services, Inc.
950 South Pine Island Road,
Suite A 150, Plantation, Florida
BA Management Services, Inc.
Our search for B. A. Management Services, Inc. showed that it is a Florida company created on March 30, 2006. The annual statements for 2007, 2008 and 2009 show the following persons and addresses…
Current Corporate Address (Changed March 30, 2007)
950 South Pine Island Road,
Suite A 150, Plantation, Florida 33324
Original Corporate Address
515 East Las Olas Blvd, Ste 1050
Ft Lauderdale, Florida 33301
Officers & Directors = Brian BRANKER, Robert V. FULLERTON, Ramchand RAMNARINE
Brian BRANKER
32 Sunset Dr. W. Bayshore, Carenage
Trinidad and Tobago
Robert V. FULLERTON
515 East Las Olas Blvd, Ste 1050
Ft Lauderdale, Florida 33301
In 2008, Mr. Fullerton changed his address on record to…
166686 Golfview Dr
Weston, Florida 33326
Ramchand RAMNARINE (Added as a Director on March 5, 2009)
11-13 Fifth St Barataria
Trinidad and Tobago
Gabrielle PATRICK (Not a director to our knowledge – mail is “Attention: Gabrielle Patrick at the Trinidad and Tobago address above.)
Here are the B. A. Management Services, Inc. Annual Reports for 2007, 2008 and 2009…
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British American Isle of Venice (BVI) Ltd.
According to the Offshore Alert, British American Isle of Venice (BVI) Ltd. is domiciled in the British Virgin Islands but shares an address with British American Insurance Company Ltd. of…
c/o BA Management Services, Inc.
950 South Pine Island Road,
Suite A 150, Plantation, Florida
Again, according to Offshore Alert, the Directors of British American Isle of Venice (BVI) Ltd. are Brian BRANKER and Robert FULLERTON.
NEW COMPANIES NOT YET MENTIONED IN THE MEDIA OR LAWSUIT
B. A. Payment Services LLC
Barbados Free Press did some nosing around on the internet and discovered B. A. Payment Services LLC, a Florida company just created on February 5, 2009 after all the trouble started with CLICO, CL Financial BUT BEFORE THE LAWSUIT LAUNCHED BY Green Island Holdings, LLC..
How does B. A. Payment Services LLC fit in to the mess? We don’t know, but it shares a common address and director (Robert FULLERTON) with some of the other companies. Was B. A. Payment Services LLC created for some purpose relating to the fact that a lawsuit was about to be launched by Green Island Holdings, LLC ?
Was B. A. Payment Services LLC created for some purpose relating to the Trinidad & Tobago Government investigations into CLICO and CL Financial ?
If B. A. Payment Services LLC was a new company created to pull some hanky panky – well, I guess this article might be of concern to the people involved. If its purpose is legitimate, then I guess they won’t worry about this article. Once must admit though, that the timing of the company’s creation is most curious!
B. A. Payment Services LLC
Date Filed: February 5, 2009
950 S Pine Island Road, Suite A150
Plantation, Florida 33324
MGRM
Robert FULLERTON
950 S Pine Island Road, Suite A150
Plantation, Florida 33324
MGRM
Laverne ASSAM
950 S Pine Island Road, Suite A150
Plantation, Florida 33324
C L Isle Of Venice, LLC
This Florida company would have skipped our notice except that the name is similar to one of the defendant companies in the lawsuit. As well, the Director is Mr. Robert V FULLERTON, (with the “V” just as in the records for B. A. Management Services, Inc.).
C L Isle Of Venice, LLC was formed on September 25, 2001 and was “managed” at that time by Dalco Capital Management – which according to our research is or was an investment company wholly owned by Mr. Lawrence A. Duprey. From the web (SEC Info)…
“(a)-(c); (f). Angostura Limited (the “Company”) is a corporation
organized under the laws of Trinidad & Tobago with principal offices at Corner
Eastern Main Road & Trinity Avenue, Laventille, Trinidad & Tobago. The Company’s
principal business is the production and marketing of aromatic bitters and bulk
spirits.
The Company is wholly owned by Angostura Holdings Ltd. (“Holdings”), a
company organized under the laws of Trinidad & Tobago with principal offices at
Corner Eastern Main Road & Trinity Avenue, Laventille, Trinidad & Tobago.
Holdings is a holding company of companies with businesses similar to the
business of the Company. Holdings is controlled by CL Financial Limited (“CL
Financial”), a company organized under the laws of the Trinidad & Tobago with
principal offices at 29 St. Vincent Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. CL
Financial is a holding company of a diversified group of businesses. CL
Financial is controlled by Dalco Capital Management Company Limited (“Dalco”), a
company organized under the laws of Trinidad & Tobago with principal offices at
24 Collens Road, Maraval, Trinidad & Tobago. Dalco is an investment company
which is wholly owned by Mr. Lawrence A. Duprey, a Director of the Company and
Holdings and Director and Executive Officer (Chairman) of CL Financial.“
In 2004, the management of C L Isle of Venice, LLC was changed from Dalco Capital Management Group, Inc. to Colonial Manager, Inc.
In 2005, the address was changed to 515 E. Las Olas Blvd., Suite 1050, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301
Current Address
7721 NW 33rd St
Hollywood, Florida 33024
Previous Address
2200 NW Corporate Blvd
Suite 401
Boca Raton, Florida 33431
Current Registered Agent
Robert V FULLERTON
7721 NW 33rd St
Hollywood, Florida 33024
Here are some corporate records for C L Isle Of Venice, LLC
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Court Documents Alleging “Incentives” Were Provided To “Insiders”
Here is the court document filed by the lawyer for British American Isle of Venice (BVI) Ltd. that refers to the “incentives” provided to “insiders”. The quote can be found on page 5, paragraph 36 (file name: CL Financial Fraud5.jpg). The document is seven pages, each one presented here as a .jpg file…
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Barbados Free Press 
Thank God for a Florida court system where transparency and disclosure, to a certain extent exists.
After several years of talking about offshore untendered agreements in the hundreds of millions of Dollars by the Barbados government, do you really think that a full independent audit of Veco, Dodds, 3S and others will not show the same system of bribes, commissions, and fee lifting?
What about Hardwood, VECO, the old man whose house was blown down in a hurricane and we paid for a new house but none was built?
David Thompson let it slide. “Nobody” is responsible. Never is anybody responsible for anything around here.
BFP, so far in this article it seems to be recounting the classic tale of the crook himself being scammed by another crook. If that is so, what does it say about the business acumen of the CLICO principals who were apparently siphoning funds from the various caribbean operations to make the real estate purchases in Florida. Could you address that issue when you provide the sequel of the article later?
Also, could you address the differences between the treatment of CLICO in Barbados as compared with Trinidad, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Guyana and suggest possible reasons for this.
CLICO subsidiaries sometimes buy land cheaply:
“As far as I can remember, Caribbean Commercial Trust Company Ltd. (now CMFC) paid roughly $100,000 for about four (4) acres WITH PERMISSIONS IN PLACE. This would be $25,000 per acre. Not long after, the same company sold one acre to Texaco for about $250,000. This was a $225,000 gross profit on a $25,000 investment – a 900% gross profit!”
http://keltruthblog.com/blog/?p=413
Do Bajans really understand what is happening to their investment and to the security they thought they had?
I think they do not, yet.
This is not only about CLICO (C.L. Financial).
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As a Tampa Bay developer I must say 6,000 acres at the listed purchase price puts the per acre cost at over $40,000. Sold at a time when the market was coming off its top and the fact that the according to Osceola County records the property is now zoned for homes and millions of commercial square feet, it would make this a huge money-maker if built out. Not sure if this one stinks as some of the other things I’ve read about these guys lately.
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“it would make this a huge money-maker if built out. Not sure if this one stinks as some of the other things I’ve read about these guys lately”
David
no prudent land company or worse insurance company would simply buy land of this immense amount without pre selling enough to get its money back or sharing the risk.
Not only does it stink, its reckless!
No one would assume that a property this large could be built out in less than 30-40 years.
Its easy to do, however, if it is OPM “other peoples money” and you don’t have to suffer and slave to earn it over a lifetime.
Where is Duprey and Parris these days?
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