Major money laundering trial set to begin
Friday, May 7, 2004
Cayman residents Lewis Denton Rowe, 75, and Patrick Thomas Tibbetts, 51,
British and United States nationals respectively, appeared in Grand Court on
Wednesday as Chief Justice Anthony Smellie presided over the jury selection
process that precedes the trial.
The two men are facing charges of assisting another to obtain the benefit of
the proceeds of criminal conduct. If convicted of the charges, the two men could
face up to 14 years in prison.
Rowe has hired the services of attorney Clyde Allen of Woodward Terry & Co,
while Tibbetts has obtained the services of attorney Simon Dixon, of Quin &
Hampson. Prosecutor Cheryl Richards will represent the Crown.
The Crown has requested that the United States government allow for four
white-collar criminals currently serving sentences to travel to the Cayman
Islands to testify in the trial or for video conferencing to be arranged for
their testimony.
It is alleged that Rowe and Tibbetts worked in unison with the Cash 4 Titles
company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Cash 4 Titles raised money from investors for
its car title lending business.
Following a Securities & Exchange Commission investigation in the United
States in 1999, Cash 4 titles collapsed and 2,000 investors lost more than $200
million dollars.
It is alleged that Rowe and Tibbetts incorporated and managed companies for
Cash 4 Titles and assisted in facilitating wire transfers.
As the recent law change calls for, the court now requires 12 jurors for
cases dealing with money laundering. The selection process took nearly three
hours as eighty-three prospective jurors were screened.
Before the court dismissed until Monday 10 May at 10 am, Chief Justice
Smellie reminded the jurors that this case may take a minimum of five months.
He chose not to swear in the jury just yet, seeking a “few more days of
quietude before the start of the trial.”
In addition, he extended the bail to cover the two defendants until Monday’s
continuance.
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