Man sues fake Oil and Gas University owner
Sued: Simone Fortune, of the Guyana Sailors Union and General Workers.
Kaieteur News – Luis Antonio Corniel, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, has sued a locally-operated oil and gas company as well as the Guyana Sailors and General Workers Union to recover more than $ 5M in wages owed to him.
According to court documents drafted by attorneys Mohabir A. Nandlall and Associates, Corniel has filed a Fixed Date Application (FDA) in the High Court to recover various amounts of money totaling more than $ 5M in salaries owed to Dorwain Bess of Alpha Petroleum Trading Inc. and Simone Fortune, of the Guyana Sailors Union and General Workers.
Fortune was recently mixed up in a criminal case and has since been bailed for collecting millions to train people to work in the field through a fake oil and gas school.
However, in this case, Fortune has been named as a respondent to a lawsuit seeking recovery of over US $ 4,627 as wages due, due and payable pursuant to a written agreement entered into and made with Corniel, the company owned by Bess and a union she represents.
According to court papers, the applicant is also seeking an order he recovers from the company, union and their principals US $ 19,000 or the equivalent of nearly $ 4M in Guyana dollars.
Corniel has asked the Court for an order to recover the US $ 800 amount from the respondents and further ordered him to recover an additional $ 1M from them.
In addition, the applicant has asked the Court for interest in accordance with Section 12 of the Miscellaneous Provisions of the Law Reform Chapter 6:02, on all sums awarded at a rate of six per cent per annum of date of filing up to date of judgment. , and thereafter at a rate of four per cent until the award was fully paid.
In a document in support of his assertion, Corniel noted that he traveled to Guyana in December, 2019, to obtain work as Chief Engineer of the tanker / oil ship MT Louis owned by a company operating from the Dominican Republic.
The applicant stated that the ship had been abandoned by the owners in Guyana and Bess and Fortune because of their previous dealings and their relationship with the ship’s owners taking responsibility, control and ultimate ownership.
Corniel explained that the MT Louis was always docked in Caledonia, East Bank Demerara, Guyana, when not in territorial waters, and upon entering Guyana took on the role of chief engineer of the ship, which he continues to to achieve. performed so far.
However, he claims that he and his crew of eight were not paid for the work they did on the ship for months, despite several demands for payment.
As a result, Corniel said he visited respondents to voice their grievances and to try to recover the wages owed.
He said that as a result of the ship’s respondents and employees, MT Louis entered into a written agreement in which Bess of Alpha Petroleum Trading Inc. agree to pay his unpaid wages in part payments.
He said Bess subsequently agreed to pay the amount of US $ 11,400 equivalent to ALL $ 2,439,600 on or before August, 7, 2020 but brokered the agreement, when it failed to pay that amount when due, due and payable.
Sometime in November, 2020, and the surrounding area, Bess is said to have paid the US $ 2,100 to Corniel leaving a US $ 9300 balance. But in a breakdown of his expenses, Corniel still owes him a substantial sum including flight costs to the Dominican Republic of US $ 800. He said that Bess failed to pay that amount despite agreeing to do so.
In addition to several other claims, the Dominican Republic national noted that many calls and requests for the due payments were made but in vain.
He explained that, as a last resort before taking court action, he sent a solicitor’s letter to respondents who advised that they had accidentally spent the money. ”Given the circumstances, Corniel has approached the Court to seek relief orders. The matter is set for Feb. 16, at 9:30 before Justice Sandil Kissoon.