The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN who faces a court appearance has not complied with a magistrate’s order that he return in 30 days the $55,000 he took from a customer, The Tribune has learned.

Jean Paul Michelsen is the chief operating officer of Stellar Energy, a company that has proposed to build a $600m waste-to-energy plant in New Providence.

He is now scheduled to appear before Magistrate Guilimina Archer on January 23 to explain why he has not returned the money to L’Neil Corriveau, who paid him to supply and install air conditioning units for a western New Providence home.

Last month, he was convicted of stealing by reason of service after Magistrate Archer found that the prosecution had “satisfied the burden of proof” in the case.

Before judgment was passed on Michelson, his lawyer, Keith Seymour, told Magistrate Archer that the first time offender should be given “one more chance” to make things right with Corriveau by refunding the $55,145 he received from her between April 12, 2011 and April 3, 2013 and deposited into a Bank of the Bahamas (BOB) account.

The magistrate said Michelson would receive an alternative punishment if he, at the end of a 30-day deadline, failed to meet certain conditions ordered by the court, including the full restoration of the monies taken from the complainant.

Magistrate Archer said last month: “I’m going to conditionally discharge you on these conditions; that you do not have any further infractions for a one-year period, that you do 50 hours of community service to the Persis Rodgers Old Folks Home on or before January 10, 2015, and provide proof of full recompense to the virtual complainant on or before January 10, 2015.

“Fail to do so and there will be another punishment,” the magistrate said.

Michelson had been hired to supply and install air conditioning units into a home the complainant and her husband were building in Coral Harbour. Construction began in 2011.

Two cheque payments were made to Michelson, then-president of Bahamas Energy Solutions Ltd, in April and July 2011 respectively, in the amounts of $26,547 and $28,598.

The defence acknowledged this fact during the trial.

Corriveau made numerous requests for his compliance or a refund after Michelson failed to fulfil any aspect of the agreement.

In his sworn statement, Michelson said he had received the money and deposited the cheques into a Bank of the Bahamas account before purchasing the units.

Michelson claimed he had ordered the units, but they were not delivered as the completion of the Coral Harbour home was delayed by nearly two years, resulting in his inability to do the installations.