By DENISE MAYCOCK
Tribune Staff Reporter
dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
AN employee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and three Grand Bahama residents are accused of orchestrating a visa fraud scheme that prosecutors say siphoned more than $14,000 from a church-linked effort to bring a Haitian pastor and his wife and their eight children to The Bahamas.
Clevette Simmons of New Providence, along with Grand Bahama residents Gonesha Joseph, Margaret Mathieu, and Mark Rolle, are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretences. The case, which involves 73 counts, is being heard before Magistrate Charlton Smith in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court.
Prosecutors allege the defendants arranged for payments to be funnelled through an Island Luck account and a Commonwealth Bank account in exchange for Bahamian visas for a Haitian pastor, his wife, and their eight children — visas that were never delivered.
All four defendants are represented by attorney Ernie Wallace. Assistant Superintendent Veron Rolle is prosecuting.
The court heard testimony from complainant Guerda Monestime, who said the matter began in March 2023 after her mother learned of a Haitian pastor during a mission trip and sought help securing visas for his family.
Ms Monestime testified that she contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in New Providence and spoke with a woman who identified herself as Clevette Simmons. She said she was told a single-entry visa for Haitians cost $250, while a one-year visa cost $850. She relayed the information to her mother.
She said she called the ministry again the following day and spoke with Simmons a second time, receiving the same information. According to Monestime, Simmons then provided her personal cellphone number and suggested it would be easier to speak outside of work. Monestime said she added the number to her WhatsApp.
Ms Monestime further testified that Simmons gave her the cellphone number of a supervisor identified as Gina, whom she said could assist further. When she called the number, a woman answered and identified herself as Gina. Monestime said she explained she was seeking visas for a Haitian pastor, his wife, and their eight children, and was told the cost would be $350 per person for a single-entry visa.
After further discussions, Monestime said Gina instructed her to deposit the funds into an Island Luck account in the name of Mark Rolle, whom Gina described as her son.
When Monestime questioned why the funds could not be deposited directly into Gina’s account, she said she was told that Rolle worked for the government.
She testified that she made an initial deposit of $550 — $300 to Mark Rolle’s Island Luck account and $250 to another account in the name of Shandice Russell or Rolle, details of which she said were sent to her via WhatsApp by Gina. Monestime said she contacted Rolle to confirm the deposit and was told the funds were received.
She said she sent deposit receipts to both Gina and Rolle via WhatsApp and was later informed that the amount paid covered only entry fees. She was then asked to pay the balance.
Ms Monestime testified that she later deposited $4,600 into Mark Rolle’s Commonwealth Bank account, using funds from a $6,000 ASUE draw. When asked about the bank receipt, she said it had been turned over to police investigators.
She also told the court that she met Rolle in person at Port Lucaya Marketplace, where she worked, and handed him $2,000 in cash. She said she met him more than four times after that, giving him cash payments ranging from $1,500 to $2,000.
According to Monestime, she wrote receipts for the cash payments in her own handwriting, listing her name, Rolle’s name, and Gina’s name, and said Rolle signed the receipts. She testified the payments were for visas for the Haitian family.
Asked how much she paid in total, Monestime told the court the sum was $14,850. She said $6,000 came from her own funds, while the remaining amount was raised by church members in the United States through MoneyGram and Western Union.
Monestime testified that no visas were ever issued. She said she received receipts via WhatsApp from Gina — whom she later learned was Gonesha Joseph — and that all payments were made to Mark Rolle. She said she submitted the receipts into evidence and testified that Rolle told her Joseph was his mother.
The case was adjourned to February 23 for the continuation of the trial.
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