Man cheats Emirati national for Dh50,000 using fake visa

Prosecutors accuse the 29-year-old Pakistani of forging a residence visa to further swindle the complainant.

An unemployed man managed to borrow Dh50,000 from an Emirati national after giving him a security cheque that proved to be withdrawn on a closed account, a court heard.
Prosecutors accuse the 29-year-old Pakistani of forging a residence visa to further swindle the complainant.
"In the middle of 2014, I received a phone call from the accused asking to see me. He came to meet me in the lobby of a hotel located on the Shaikh Zayed Road, saying that he needed to borrow Dh50,000," the 37-year-old complainant (an employee) said.
As the accused did not have a cheque book, he gave him a cheque in another man's name. "I told the defendant to acknowledge and sign a cheque's copy so that he could be held liable in case the bank rejected the cheque".
When the complainant asked him for an ID, the accused gave him a residence visa copy bearing his personal details and photo.
"I then handed him Dh50,000 as he promised he would pay it back after one month. However, that did not happen. He was not reachable on his phone and if so, he would only give excuses," the complainant added.
Few days later, the complainant went with an Indian businessman to meet the accused. "He was elusive in returning the sum. He then pretended that he would go to bring the money."
The accused made the businessman wait for 6 hours and then never showed up.
A complaint was filed at the Bur Dubai police station when the bank rejected the cheque.
The businessman testified that he was with the Emirati at the hotel lobby on August 25, 2014, when the accused handed the latter a security cheque worth Dh 50,000. But they found that the name in which it was issued is different from the signature.
The defendant then signed another paper, acknowledging that he would be responsible if things did not go well with the bank.
A letter from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai said that the visa used by the defendant was fake.
The accused denied charges of fraud and forgery in court. A verdict is expected on August 31.
 
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