IN August 2007 Portmore taxi operator Daryl was $300,000 in debt and desperate to find a way to clear the loan.

“I found myself in a position not being able to pay back the loan,” he testified in the fraud trial of former Cash Plus boss Carlos Hill in the Home Circuit Court.

The husband and father of three children — who was the first of two depositors to testify yesterday — said that this was when his brother-inlaw told him about Cash Plus. He said he sought out the St Lucia Avenue offices of Cash Plus where he said he spoke with a “sales representative”.

“I went there to build up my confidence,” he told the court. “After speaking to her I made up my mind to go all the way…” By September of that year, he said, he put $120,000 in the company after taking out a manager’s cheque from his bank.

He said he invested the money after being told that he would get 10 per cent of his principal (or $12,000) on a monthly basis.

He said he agreed to allow the interest to roll over for a period so he would be in a better position to service his $300,000 debt. He said he would get monthly statements regarding his interest.

In November 2007, Daryl testified, he was called to a meeting of depositors in the vicinity of the National Arena where Hill “spoke for a long time” about the company’s investments in the Wyndham Hotel and Mainland, among others.

“He was trying to give the assurance that the business was legitimate and reliable,” the witness said, as Hill fixed his gaze upon him through rimless glasses from the prisoners’ dock. “I felt very confident and very, very good. In fact, I respected him as a leader from that meeting.”

But the confidence wouldn’t last. He said that in December he started hearing “things on the road” and as a result went back to Cash Plus’ St Lucia Avenue offices and was directed to the Premier Plaza office.

“I spoke with a rep down there and told her I want my money back,” he said. “Did you get the money?” asked Claudette Thompson, the lead counsel for the Crown. “No,” the witness said. “Did you get the principal then?” Thompson asked. “Not a red cent,” said the witness, as Hill sat seemingly taking notes. He said he was told to come back on another day for his money. However, he said the cash wasn’t forthcoming when he returned on March 31, 2008. “I was frightened; getting coward,” he said. “You know, I wanted my money back.”

Still, the witness testified under cross-examination from attorney Deborah Martin that he was aware of the risk associated with dealing with the company. He said also that he was aware that the money was a loan to Cash Plus and not an investment. He said he had read and understood the documents he was given before putting in his money.

He said he wasn’t aware of the stipulation that he needed referrals from two persons with money in Cash Plus in order to join in.

Hill is being tried on a count of fraudulently inducing persons to invest and attempting to fraudulently induce persons to invest in his alternative investment scheme in 2007 before its subsequent collapse.

Yesterday, before jurors started hearing evidence, Keri-Ann Kemble, who also appears for the Crown, explained the charges against Hill. She said that Hill, through statements, advised members of the public to put money in Cash Plus Limited and the Cash Plus Group. In doing so, Kemble said, Hill would have been reckless, knowing that his company wasn’t in a position to fulfil the promise of 10 per cent interest per month.

Hill, who was charged in 2008, faces seven years’ imprisonment if found guilty.

The second witness described himself as a businessman and said that he invested a total of $500,000 in Cash Plus — $250,000 in June 2007 and another $250,000 the following month.

“It looked very good to us,” the witness said of himself and his wife in reference to the Cash Plus contract.

He said he continued getting interest on his principal up until October. He said Hill told depositors at a meeting at Merl Grove High School on Constant Spring Road, St Andrew, that the National Commercial Bank was trying to shut down Cash Plus. He said Hill gave assurance that depositors would get their money and said that Cash Plus “can never go down”.

Under cross-examination from Valerie Neita-Robertson, Hill’s lead attorney, the witness said he knew there was some degree of risk associated with his transaction with Cash Plus.

He said he thought the money was an investment and not a loan.

The trial resumes today with the continued evidence of Inger Hainsley-Bennett from the Companies Office of Jamaica. Her evidence is being marshalled by attorney Adley Duncan, who also appears for the Crown.