Trinidad and Tobago: A family hailing from Trinidad and Tobago has been sentenced to a combined total of 418 years in prison. The hearing last Wednesday was made by a court in Queens, New York and the family has been sentenced for scamming 19 Caribbean immigrants of over $1.8 million.
The family of three comprises of 52-year-old Shane Ramsundar, 48-year-old Gomatee and their 23-year-old daughter Stantal.
The prosecutors explained that Ramsundar used to target vulnerable Caribbean immigrants by luring them into the honeytrap of removing their names from terror watchlists, prevent deportation from the United States or securing green cards for them. He also used to convince the victims that he could get affordable housing for them.
During the hearing, the judge described the family as ‘the most despicable gang of criminals to ever sit in front of me’. He further remarked on the gravity of their crimes and said that everyone knows that if they did this fraud and paraded and strutted around in front of their own people, in their own country, they probably would have all been hacked to death.
The judge added but death is not the option in this country and now it is the time to hear their return on their investment for their crimes. According to the information, Ramsundar received the maximum sentence of 235 years while his wife was handed with the notice to serve 153 years and their daughter with 30 years. The family was found guilty of grand larceny back in November 2024.
While expressing his disgust over the crimes undertaken by the trio, Assistant District Attorney Catherine Kane remarked, “They stole from their own.” He added that they chose the ones who were afraid of reporting to the police as they were terrified of being deported back to a place where they had no one to go home to.
Also, one of the victims, a man who was suffering from multiple sclerosis said that he was conned out of $43,000 after being falsely told that he was about to be deported back to the Caribbean. Prosecutors revealed that the family utilized stolen funds for lavish purchases, including cars, expensive handbags, extravagant shopping sprees and a $2700 Yorkie dog.
