golf cart injury scam

[reaper]

So did all of this really go down with Alexandra, her employee Jessie and the couple from Reef Village? It got deleted on AC.com

What's the real story Peter?

[JZB]

I just went to read the thread on ac.com but it was zapped.  I'm not sure exactly what was said on the thread but this scam is really happening.

[peterbj7]

I spoke to Peter about it yesterday.  He says it happened exactly as he described, and husband and wife are both at it.  I was surprised the article had been published as it was written by Peter - perhaps Marty realised that and censured it.  Hopefully Peter will reprint it here.

[peterbj7]

It's still on Ambergris daily.  This is it:-

On the 8th of December (a couple of Wednesdays ago) in the evening, Mr. Peter Oberhaus, a tourist from Europe, was driving his rental golf cart back to his rental unit at Reef Village. He heard a voice shouting at him from the direction he just came from, near the Mayan Secrets Spa owned by Ms. Alexandra Nicholson. It was a woman and man. The man claimed that Mr. Oberhaus had struck his wife with the golf cart. Mr. Oberhaus was very surprised because he didn’t see or feel any impact. The woman looked fine. Nevertheless Mr. Oberhaus was very concerned and agreed to report the matter to the police. This he did.

Mr. Oberhaus was then forced to spend 16 hours in a jail cell in the San Pedro Police Station.

Mr. Oberhaus’s wife who was staying at the Reef Village condo was not informed and spent the night alone. Next morning she was able to discover her husband’s predicament. The nightmare was only just starting for this tourist couple….

It turned out that the woman allegedly struck by the golf cart, who is called “Jessie” is an employee of Mayan Secret’s Spa owner Alexandra Nicholson. Ms. Nicholson is a well known island personality who specializes in unsuccessful law suits trying to extort property and money from those unfortunate enough to cross her path. Never being one to let a good opportunity pass Ms. Nicholson proceeded to try and extort $14,000US from the unfortunate (and by now terrified) tourist couple, claiming serious injury to “Jessie”, medical expenses and mental trauma. This is the same “Jessie” seen by many witnesses cheerfully going about her business the next day. A week later the terrified tourists made a payment of $9000BZE on their American Express credit card to Alexandra Nicholson. Of course this was not enough for Alexandra and she proceeded to threaten the Oberhaus’s with imminent arrest and detention in Belize. Ms. Nicholson has had unfortunates arrested at Belize International Airport on at least one other previous occasion, usually in a losing cause.

So, let’s summarize: A tourist is informed he has hit a woman with his golf cart. The woman is fine. The woman’s employer (Alexandra Nicholson) has the tourist locked up for 16 hours at the police station while demanding $14,000US in damages and imaginary and unproved medical expenses. This drags out for one week; the tourist pays $9000BZE to Ms. Nicholson and is threatened with immediate detention without right to leave Belize.

Enter the cavalry.

Fortunately yesterday, Thursday, the Oberhaus’s spoke to a well known hotel and bar owner who is quite conversant with the ways of the devious Ms. Alexandra Nicholson. Within a few hours here’s what happened:

The well known hotelier contacted his friend, Aldo Reyes of Glen Godrey Law Co. a lawyer, in Belize City. The payment for $9000BZE made on the tourist’s credit card was reversed. Word reached the Belize Commissioner of Police who passed down a rocket, ordering a full explanation of this outrage and an immediate resolution. The police sergeant (who had been lied to by the convincing and conniving Ms. Nicholson and was thus inadvertently assisting Ms. Nicholson in her extortion attempts) was called before the San Pedro Magistrate to explain his actions.

Mr. Arnold, head of the San Pedro Police, after meeting the unfortunate couple and hearing their story, immediately called for Ms. Nicholson and an employee of Reef Village called Byron (who managed with Ms. Nicholson to get $1000 in cash from the unfortunate couple) to be brought to the police station immediately to be interviewed with what he viewed as extortion.

Ms. Nicholson has been released but was informed that Mr Arnold will be investigating all charges against her and her participation in these instances, and also advised not to leave the country.

Mr. Oberhaus after being exonerated by Mr. Arnold thanked all the wonderful people of the San Pedro Business Association, Mr. Arnold,  Mr. Eddie Halliday, Elito Arceo of Seaduced and Peter Lawrence begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting of Pedro’s Inn. Mr. Oberhaus’s wife who is in her mid seventies was crying tears of joy saying “Thank God we can still buy Christmas presents for our grandchildren”

[ragman]

peter you beat me by a few seconds.  This stinks, even if there was an accident it was handled wrong and looks like a scam.  Reminds me of the Golf Cart scam a few years ago when a tourist damaged a rental golf cart.  To this day I do my best not to do business with that businessman.  Warren made reference to this before all the posts where deleted.   

It is a good thing that certain businessmen stepped forwarded to help like they did last time.  They should be applauded and Peter Lawrence is one of them.  Makes you wonder where the name "Bad Peter" ever came from??? 

[JZB]

I wonder how many tourists she has successfully extorted money from that was never reported to the authorities?? 

[ragman]

Here is the youtube video of the meeting that some one posted yesterday. It still smells to me.   

Peter Oberhaus Admits Liability for Hit & Run In San Pedro Belize


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCm1ghBVU8k

[clover]

A few years ago a golf cart rental co. claimed we had damaged a golf cart.....took the money out of my credit card ($2000 US).  I disputed the charge to my card co......the cart co could not produce pictures of the supposed damage and lost their claim.

Synopsis:  If it wasn't for a good card co with a great anti fraud dept.....I'd be out 2k.

this new scam is diabolical.  I suspect the reason Marty pulled the thread is because this is truly spooky for tourists.  

[ragman]

Mike I didn't realize you where a victim of that type of scam.  If I remember correctly in the instance that I mentioned they wanted $6,000USD and the San Pedro Business Association posted a bond or something so that the tourist could leave the Island.  In this case there definitely was damage done but it was handled very heavy handed.  I'll bet it scared many tourist because it was in the local papers.     Was the rental from the Market? 

[clover]

The rental was from a well known cart co on the island.  The SPBA was not involved with what happened to me.  I dealt with it myself and prevailed.  There was no damage to my cart by the way.  When the cart co couldn't produce proof of damage my card co told them to stick it. 

That was in 2007.....it didn't stop me from returning to the island...it just opened my eyes a bit, and made me a little more aware

 

[Milfred]

Any idea what the total is for medical bills to date?  Who is the lady in the video on the right? Alexandra
doing the video?

[clover]

The neck brace is over the top for sure  

[Chris]

What a horror. This was nothing more than an attempt to extort cash (and lots of it) from terrified tourists. The youtube video is a total joke, an attempt to "prove" a confession was made by the confused and elderly tourist.

I am sorry and saddened to see that one of San Pedro's finest people, Nurse Natalie, was duped into partaking in this robbery attempt. Had she known the law-suit happy reputations of the perpetrators of this con I'm sure she would have (a) continued to offer medical assistance if necessary and (b) refused to partake in the meeting. In terms of damaging tourism on our island this scam is on the same level as a purse snatching or a mugging with the caveat that at least the purse snatching mugger doesn't get innocent people involved in the crime as well.

[peterbj7]

I suspect the reason Marty pulled the thread is because this is truly spooky for tourists

Marty is of the school that believes the best way to deal with bad news is to suppress it so no-one will see it.  There are quite a few others here of that view.  I believe the opposite is true - establish trust with (potential) visitors that if there is bad news you will promulgate it, so that when they don't hear of anything bad they know that's because nothing bad happened.  When bad news that has been suppressed finally outs the damage is far worse than if it had been admitted straight away, because now people see an atmosphere of secrecy and distrust.

What about the armed robberies that took place three or four years ago on the Macal River near to one of Belize's top resorts?  Everyone kept quiet about them, including the resort management even though some of their guests had been directly involved, so because people weren't warned that a particular stretch of the river was dangerous the robberies went on, week after week.  The plug was finally pulled when one of the victims posted her story on her local newspaper back home, and somebody here spotted it.  Only then did the police and authorities take any effective action.  I am amazed that resort wasn't sued in the US (because I believe that's where the bookings were made and payment taken), though perhaps they were and THAT was hushed up as well.

I have known over the years of several deaths in the water.  Very few of those have ever been admitted to publicly, those few because someone talked at the time and it was impossible to keep it quiet.  In most cases nobody here got to hear a thing.  I am thinking of a death not too long ago which has been totally hushed up.  I think this is an appalling way to go on.

[peterbj7]

Re-reading my last post, I should make it clear that the "bad news" involved here is extortion, not a golf cart accident.

I've just watched that YouTube video.  I agree fully with Chris that this scam is totally transparent.  I would like to see the perpetrators prosecuted, but I don't suppose that will happen.