By PAVEL BAILEY
Tribune Court Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
AN American man lost his casino winnings and faced a $500 fine in court yesterday after admitting to lying to a US officer at LPIA by saying he had $15,000 when he actually he had $49,200.
Jeffrey Cohen, 46, of Florida, appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt on a charge of making a false declaration to an officer of the United States.
Around 12pm on January 15 at LPIA, while returning home with his family after staying at Baha Mar, Cohen lied to a US pre-clearance officer about the amount of cash with which he was travelling. The court was told that $49,200 was found on the defendant as well as in his luggage, contradicting the $15,000 cash he said he had.
In a subsequent police interview, Cohen admitted to the offence, further saying that he had won cash at the casino of his resort.
In court, the accused pleaded guilty to the offence.
His attorney, Ian Cargill, said his client is a married father of two who is employed in finance.
He further said that Cohen is a frequent visitor to the country who cooperated with authorities and admitted to the offence at the onset.
After stating that the defendant was remorseful and had no prior cases in any jurisdiction, Mr Cargill asked the court to be lenient to Cohen and give him the opportunity to revisit this country.
In view of this, the chief magistrate ordered the funds seized by authorities forfeited to the crown and imposed a fine on the defendant.
Although Cohen was initially fined $800 this amount was reduced to $500 after the intercession of his attorney.
The chief magistrate then warned the defendant and told him not to make false declarations on future visits to the country.
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