The victims want to make the public aware of the prevalence of cheque scams
More victims of bad cheque scams have spoken out after Abu Dhabi authorities detained a conman who bought cars with bounced cheques.
On Tuesday, a Syrian man was arrested by police after he was charged with taking expensive cars from owners after giving them bad cheques and then sold on the cars to other people at a lower value.
Abu Dhabi prosecutors said the man in his 30s was involved in 17 scams including duping car owners into handing him luxurious cars and making them sign sale agreements after he gave them cheques which later bounced.
And in a bid to make the public aware of the prevalence of cheque scams after reading the article in this newspaper, some victims contacted us saying they were also duped in similar ways and are yet to recover their cash from the conmen.
Nassib Haddad says he lost his BMW in June 2015 to a conman from Ras Al Khaimah.
“The man phoned me saying he was interested in buying my car after I advertised its sale on Dubizzle,” he said.
The 36-year-old Dubai businessman said the Emirati man came along with his friend and met him in the Al Barsha area of Dubai during the evening to see the car.
“After seeing the car, they suggested that we go to Al Barsha vehicle inspection centre where the car was inspected on the same day and passed,” said Haddad.
The man then said to him that he was buying the car at Dhs200,000 and paying by cheque. “At first, I refused to take the cheque,” he says. “But when the man insisted claiming they were from Ras Al Khaimah and wouldn’t be able to return to Dubai soon, I accepted.”
He added: “And the fact that they were Emiratis, I trusted them and gave in my car after they signed the cheque.”
Haddad said when he went to the bank the following day, he was told the Emirati didn’t have sufficient balance left. He says he filed a complaint with Al Barsha Police Station but later learned that since October last year, the man was arrested and prosecuted in RAK after doing similar scams to 13 other people.
“It’s very unfortunate. Especially that he was an Emirati and until that moment, I had full trust in our local friends.”
Another victim, a 34-year-old Indian woman, and owner of a reputed fitness equipment firm in Dubai’s Business-Bay says in 2014, one Syrian man took eight units of fitness equipment worth Dhs330,000 from them and gave them cheques all of which bounced.
“We took the case to Bur Dubai Police Station,” she said. “And according to police records, the man had been involved in several bounced cheque cases.”
She added: “I don’t think the man has been caught till now because we haven’t heard anything yet from police. He might be continuing these activities with other companies.
“I’m sharing my case to inform people about such scams because it could save many others from going through the same situation,” she said.
What can be done?
An Abu Dhabi criminal and civil lawyer has explained how victims of bounced cheques can reclaim their money.
Ali Al Abadi said the first step is for the claimant to register a complaint at a police station against the person who issued the dud cheque.
“And once the criminal side is determined by court of misdemeanours or criminal court or the two higher courts if the defendant decides to appeal and a verdict is issued, then the victim (plaintiff) can proceed with the civil law suit,” said Al Abadi.
If the defendant is found guilty, the court will refer the law suit to the civil court which the claimant can pursue through his or her lawyer.
“The victim has to provide documents from the public prosecution stating that the verdict was final,” he said.
“The civil court judge then compels the defendant to pay up.”
Source: 7days