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From all the show of it by the flashy team of attorneys for the Coye’s and the former employees of Moneygram fame, you’d think for sure the preliminary inquiry into the case would have been a complete washout, a slam dunk for the defence, case dismissed with the prosecutors from the Financial Intelligence Unit outmatched, outwitted, left with heads hanging low. A likely ending, except just the opposite happened in court today. The Coye legal team was rejected in their no case submission and the money laundering trial will go to court. Those defence attorneys Dickie Bradley, Arthur Saldivar and Anthony Sylvestre Jr. had argued that there were significant defects and inconsistencies in the charges, the evidence and the conduct of the investigation.

In her ruling Magistrate Kathleen Lewis said she found that those issues will not affect the proceedings at this stage and many of the determinations must be made by the judge at trial stage. But one monkey wrench in the works didn’t stop the show while rolled on despite a legal setback. Jacqueline Godwin was at court.

Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
From the start husband and wife sixty two year old Michael Coye, fifty five year old Marlene Coye, their son Jude Coye. Daughter thirty three year old Melonie Coye and her thirty seven year old husband thirty seven year old American national James Gerou and their attorneys have claimed that the charge of money laundering against the family was a no case submission. But today at the conclusion of the preliminary inquiry the outcome dealt a devastating blow for both the family and their attorneys.

Nevertheless defence attorney Arthur Saldivar says that while the case will now proceed to trial at the Supreme Court he maintains the case is very weak, even though all submissions made by the defence were declined by Magistrate Kathleen Lewis.

Arthur Saldivar, Defence Attorney - Coye Family
“Stating that she finds that there is sufficient evidence to commit the matter to the Supreme Court. It is a blow because really there is no substantiation of any of the claims made. But in the opinion of the Magistrate, this is something that she believes the jury of the Supreme Court would be better capable of deciding. That said, I respect her decision. I believe and I have abiding faith in our judicial process and know that we will have another day to have this matter be heard. This is not the end of the process, it is just another link in the chain. So we go forward to the Supreme Court where we will have our opportunity to fully ventilate the matters and basically discharge without any doubt whether or not there is or isn’t and as we stated time and time again, there isn’t.”

The family is charged with laundering over one point five million dollars through their company Money Exchange International Limited, the parent company for Moneygram in Belize.

Following the family’s departure from the Belize City Magistrate’s Court I approached the former director of Moneygram Melonie Coye. At first she was reluctant to speak to us but confessed she is confused about the ruling while still being optimistic about the ruling.

Melonie Coye, Accused of Money Laundering
“I am always optimistic but I need to speak to him (Mr. Bradley) okay but I really don’t want to talk because he has to explain to me what is going to happen now. So I am confused. They went against everything for us so that is why it doesn’t sounds fair.”

Arthur Saldivar,
“We have to move forward now and await a date in the Supreme Court. It is again a matter of some shock that we are at this pass. So to say and to go back and rehash and do a post mortem so to speak would not be in our interest at this time.”

In court, the defence team was told that the points they raised were matters that should be dealt with at trial. Attorney Arthur Saldivar discussed that with the media.

Arthur Saldivar,
“It will depend greatly on what the prosecution now does which I believe goes against the grain of what our justice system requires. But I will not want to go in-depth. If there is any change as I suspect there might be, then it would be in my estimation prejudice but the Magistrate has stated in her discretion that she doesn’t see how prejudice would be done. We will see.

I would want to impugn anyone, especially not the learned Magistrate as I believe she has ordered herself and conducted herself professionally and I look forward to moving this matter, going along with it to the Supreme Court and dealing with it there. And I believe strongly that with a jury of their peers, the Coye family will be vindicated.”

Melonie Coye did take time out to speak about one of the prosecutions key witnesses, one of her former senior employees Shawn Oliver, the whistleblower in this case.

Melonie Coye,
“Miss Oliver wasn’t charged and she was in charge of all the papers and documents pertaining to Moneygram so she came with that experience from Omni Networks.”

Melonie Coye who maintains her family’s innocence told 7News that everything was staged and planned from the first day the police visited her parents’ residence on Johnson Street.

Melonie Coye,
“At five thirty on the 31st of December Mr. Valdez with a lot of CIB police officers went to the office and at the same time they went to my parents’ house. So while I was trying to get the attorney to see what’s going on because they told me they only want to ask me a couple questions. They didn’t show me no warrant or say they were going to lock me up for money laundering or anything. They just said I have a couple questions and in a couple hours we will release you. And they went to my parents’ house but I am living with my husband and my brother was in the US for like two weeks, prior to this who scenario. He doesn’t work there, he just visits me once in a while.

No money was in no suitcase. There was no money in no suitcase. The police officer took the funds that they found when they searched the house and they told them this money has nothing to do with the office, these are my family’s savings and business and land property that they have sold in the past. But that money was never in no suitcase and they put it in two old holey suitcase and took it with them.”

Special lead prosecutor Antoinette Moore who was initially reluctant to speak with the media did say they are more than happy with today’s outcome.

Antoinette Moore, Special Lead Prosecutor
“Obviously FIU was very pleased with the result this morning, with the Magistrate finding on all counts that the defendants should proceed to trial in the Supreme Court. She found that each and every submission made by the defendants, not submission did she find there was any merit to. This was not surprising to us.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
“Because I know the defendants were saying all along that this was a no case submission.”

Antoinette Moore,
“Certainly that was their point of view but obviously, legally, they were wrong. We are very pleased and we look forward to the trial.

It would be difficult to say because we are now in mid-November, the witnesses will be bound over to early December. Procedurally I can’t really say what date the trial actually commence.”

The defence team is hoping the case will go to trial as soon as possible in 2010.

Arthur Saldivar,
“As soon as possible I hope. I think that special consideration should be given to this family considering the length of time of this process they’ve endured. It must be appreciated that these people have been without any income from December 31st 2008 and to live in Belize in these times, the worst of times financially for people with jobs, imagine having to go without a job and not only without a job but with the stigma of a case like this hanging over your head, there is no opportunity for these people to make anything to sustain themselves. It is a miracle that they are making it here to court each and every time. But I do believe that that task of making it to court each and every time is going to become much more harder as we go forward. They are without income so I ask whoever it is who is having the responsibility and duty to assign cases to give special consideration to this particular case, to have it be heard as quickly as possible.”

Reporting for 7News Jacqueline Godwin.

For her part whistleblower Shawn Oliver was a clerk and says she was never in charge in Melonie Coye’s absence. Oliver reported to a manager – a female who has not been charged or named in the investigation. So the money laundering case against the Coye family and James Gerou and two former employees now proceed to trial in the Supreme Court at a date to be set.

This is the second successive victory for the FIU legal team as they recently got the Supreme Court to maintain a freeze on 22 of Dean Fuller’s 24 bank accounts. Fuller’s Omni Networks was the master agent for MoneyGram in Belize – and the FIU argues –shared in commissions on millions of dollars of fraudulent transactions carried out by the Coye-owned sub-agency. OMNI Networks has issued a statement declaring that they have never been involved in any illegal activity and have every confidence that they will clear their names in court. OMNI claims it actually lost money on the Moneygram business.