AN ATTORNEY, on suspension, has been jailed for 14 days for failing to repay $109,000 to a San Juan finance manager for the purchase of US currency in 2022.
Justice Frank Seepersad made the order on April 14, committing Kavita Crystal Persad to the Women’s Prison in Golden Grove, Arouca, finding her in contempt for breaching two previous court orders.
The judge also gave the court’s marshals the power to arrest Persad, of Old Factory Road, Piarco, to take her to prison to serve her term of simple imprisonment.
In his oral ruling, Seepersad said Persad ought to have known adherence to the rule of law was required.
The judge had been asked to jail Persad for failing to abide by two previous court orders to repay Kyle Hope-Singh.
According to the evidence before the judge, in September 2022, Persad agreed to “sell” Hope-Singh US$14,540 so he could purchase a portable solar power station.
Hope-Singh’s initial lawsuit said he was referred to Persad as a reliable attorney who had access to US currency. He transferred TT$109,050 to Persad’s bank account for the purchase of the portable solar power station, and when he did not receive it, he asked for a refund.
This, too, he did not receive, and his lawsuit said Persad “continued to give false assurances and blanket promises” for the refund. His lawsuit also contends that Persad told him the money was under investigation by the Financial Intelligence Unit and the funds had not cleared, so she was unable to access the money to repay him. It also said she told him several times to meet her at the bank to collect the money, but she never showed up. In November 2022, she allegedly sent him screenshots of a wire transfer for the refund, but the lawsuit said he never received any money.
She also repeatedly gave verbal assurances and promises to pay by a manager’s cheque, asking him to hold his hand on legal action after she received a pre-action protocol letter.
Seepersad noted that having regard to the case’s procedural history, Persad was served with the initial contempt proceedings, filed on May 24, 2024. She entered a consent order on July 9, 2024, acknowledging the debt and agreeing to pay by August 12, 2024. Persad failed to do so and was also served with the second application in February 2025.
He said it was difficult for Persad to contend there was a breach of natural justice since she was aware that contempt proceedings could be reinstituted if she failed to abide by the terms of the agreement, which, he said, she entered “of her own volition.”
He also pointed out that the arrangement was not one “which accords with the law,” since there was no evidence that Persad had a licence or authority to engage in the sale of US currency.
“Adherence to the rule of law is required of attorneys. And, one should always try to ensure that one does not embark upon a course of action that flouts the law in any way.”
“It is not lost upon this court that the judgment debtor was a member of the profession and was qualified as an attorney-at-law. When the conse
