Police Link Recent Murders to Intricate Land Fraud Schemes; Investigations Ongoing

As we’ve reported, in recent months, the police have begun to uncover intricate land schemes, some of which are believed to be connected to the murder of two men. Investigators believe that the white-collar crimes are linked to the shooting deaths of Ricardo Borja and Darren Taylor. Both men were reportedly involved in shady deals, but only Borja had come clean, before being gunned down. Since his death, the police have been working closely with the Land Departments to unravel the web of false receipts, bribes, and corruption carried out under the land scheme. Last week, a Placencia realtor alleged that he had uncovered evidence linking a former associate to Borjas’ crimes. It’s a situation that the Minister of Natural Resources Cordel Hyde says is rather new to Belize but scary. 

Hyde says that while Borja’s company, JC Consulting, had initiated several transactions with the Lands Department, it didn’t complete some 80 percent of them. He explained that those people lost substantial sums of money that never reached the government and advised people to be cautious when purchasing land. 

On Monday, the Commissioner of Police stated that the uptick in fraud cases has led to the police establishing a fraud unit.