After a trial that laid out allegations of sustained financial exploitation, a Barbadian used car dealer has been found guilty of sustained theft and money laundering that drained more than $42,000 from a single customer over the course of two years. Dwayne Omar Clarke, a resident of Warrens Crescent in St Michael, was handed the unanimous conviction by a nine-member jury at the No. 5A Supreme Court, following a prosecution led by Barbados’ Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Court documents detail two distinct counts of theft and criminal proceeds possession, both linked to customer Joy-Ann Mapp. The first conviction stems from an $18,000 cheque issued by Republic Bank Limited and made payable to Clarke’s business, MD Auto Sales, taken between August 17, 2019, and July 6, 2021. Clarke was also found guilty of holding these funds, which he knew or reasonably should have known were obtained through criminal activity.
The second guilty verdict comes from a second theft: a $24,500 Republic Bank cheque made payable directly to Clarke personally on February 4, 2020. Clarke wrongfully withheld this sum from Mapp, and held the funds as criminal proceeds between the date of the cheque and July 6, 2021, when the charges were brought.
In an unusual procedural detail, Clarke chose to represent himself throughout the trial, rather than retaining private legal counsel or requesting a court-appointed attorney. The prosecution team was led by Principal State Counsel Romario Straker, supported by State Counsels Maya Kellman and Eleazar Williams.
Following the jury’s guilty verdict on all counts, Justice Christopher Birch ordered Clarke be remanded to Dodds Prison to await his sentencing hearing. The case will resume on April 10, when the court will hand down official punishment for the convictions.