Man pleads guilty using wrong name

Senior Parish Judge Lori-Anne Cole-Montaque advised a Corporate Area man to report an attorney-at-law, whom he said forced him to plead guilty to fraud-related charges on a fake name nearly 20 years ago.

Prosecutors outlined that Winston Rowe allowed himself to be convicted in the then named Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court Criminal Division - using another man's name - for the offences of forgery and uttering forged documents, knowing that it was not his correct name.

"What a big fraud you put on the state! You allowed yourself to be convicted in another name," Judge Cole-Montaque opined. Rowe pleaded guilty last Thursday to perverting the course of justice.

"I had a lawyer at the time Your Honour, and she said she was going to deal with the case," the defendant said.

"So essentially you're saying this happened because of the advice you got from a lawyer? If what you're saying is true, so you know and recognise that you have to do certain things now?," the judge said.

It was shared in court that the offence was related to a passport application, and the person whose birth name was used on the indictment has encountered serious implications as a result of the conviction.

"It has to be reported. If what you are saying is correct, you need to go to General Legal Council," Cole-Montaque added.

The man indicated that he is not aware if the lawyer is still practising or on the roll of attorneys. The matter was adjourned until February 15, 2024 when he is to be sentenced. A social enquiry report was requested.