A serial conman, who was recently accused of suing 12 people for money and damages without their knowledge in civil court, is now standing trial in two more cases.
A further 23 alleged victims have been identified, and the infamous Bahraini business owner is now a suspect in three ongoing High Criminal Court trials, involving a total of 35 plaintiffs.
In all three cases, the 53-year-old was charged with intentionally inputting incorrect contact information for the alleged victims when filing the lawsuits against them – accusations that he denied.
The defendant’s lawyers have asked judges to release him on bail, since he reportedly suffers from cancer and is currently undergoing chemotherapy, but the request was rejected.
The court heard that he had previously been offered bail of BD5,000, but was unable to pay the amount, so he remains in custody.
A lawyer claimed that he could not pay the bail since his bank accounts were frozen as part of the criminal proceedings.
In the first case, involving 12 victims, he and an employee were accused of entering their own contact details to ensure that the victims did not receive a court summons or a lawsuit notification.
As a result, they were unable to attend hearings or defend themselves in court, with some losing the lawsuits, according to the Public Prosecution. Some victims’ bank accounts and property were frozen without their knowledge.
The two men were charged with feeding false information into the digital systems of the Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Ministry (MOJ) and the Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA).
In the two new cases, the businessman is the sole defendant, accused of carrying out the same acts between 2018 and 2022, allegedly harming 14 and nine people respectively.
In these lawsuits, he demanded outstanding payments or debts from the people he sued.
“It appears from the database that the defendant’s eKey was used to input this information into the MOJ’s website,” a ministry official testified.
Meanwhile, a Public Prosecution representative asked judges to issue the maximum penalty in the trials.
“The reality is that the defendants deprived the families of their deceased victims of their inheritance,” the state attorney said during a previous hearing.
“The erroneous data is still part of the official record, and the defendants’ mental or physical health is not an excuse.”
The businessman’s employee previously claimed that his boss was known for deceptive business practices, alleging that he sold mobile phones, electronic devices and gold bullion on instalment plans while charging excessive prices.
The businessman, meanwhile, denied knowledge of the alleged practices, telling prosecutors that he was rarely present at his offices and spent much of his time attending court proceedings.
Previously a leading unionist, he was convicted of fraud, embezzlement and scamming customers in many cases over the years, for which he served time in jail.
Judges set September 15 as the verdict date for the first case, while the trials continue in the two new cases.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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