A pregnant mother of two was released on $950,000 bail on Tuesday after being charged with five offences linked to an alleged $13 million land scam and the use of forged national documents.
Odessa McDonald-Moses, 33, stood before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, where she pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against her.
The charges include obtaining money by false pretence and the forgery and use of fraudulent identification and travel documents.
Prosecutors allege that between April 1 and May 22, 2025, McDonald-Moses posed as someone authorised to sell a parcel of land at Plantation Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
In doing so, she allegedly collected $13 million from two individuals, Keon Bess and Orlando Prince, under false pretences. According to the police, McDonald-Moses had no legal right to conduct the sale.
Additional charges stem from an incident on June 6, 2025, in which McDonald-Moses is accused of using the alias Sharmaine Alexis Patterson to forge and present a Guyana national ID card and passport.
Prosecutors claim she used the fake documents to further mislead Bess in connection with the land transaction.
The prosecution objected to bail, citing concerns that McDonald-Moses could interfere with witnesses, access new forged documents, or attempt to flee. They also underscored the gravity of the offences and the calculated nature of the alleged fraud.
Her attorney, Meshonn Persaud, argued otherwise, highlighting McDonald-Moses’s clean record, family responsibilities, and pregnancy.
Persaud also accused the police of detaining her client for over 72 hours without medical attention, stating that McDonald was visibly bleeding while in custody, and officers dismissed concerns.
Despite the prosecution’s objections, Magistrate Azore granted bail, setting amounts of $150,000 for the charge of obtaining money by false pretence, $150,000 each for the two counts of uttering forged documents, and $250,000 each for the two forgery charges.
McDonald-Moses is expected to return to court on July 16, 2025, as the investigation continues.
