News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. Feb. 18, 2013: New York Attorneys for Rickford Burke, President of the New York based Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy, (CGID), have slapped a multi-million US dollar libel lawsuit against the Guyana Times International in New York Supreme Court.
The lawsuit was filed against the paper for its January 31, 2013 publication of “a false and slanderous article alleging that Burke was arrested in New York and charged with identity theft on January 15, 2013.”
The article carried the headline “Rickford Burke charged for identity theft.”
Your reckless actions suggest maliciousness and a premeditation and intent at character assassination, and to slander and defame my client so as to cause injury to his reputation and expose him to public contempt and ridicule. Consequently, my client has suffered grave harm and is entitled to an apology as well as substantial damages.
Burke’s attorneys, SUARES & ASSOCIATES also called on the publication “to immediately remove from your online newspaper, affiliated websites and publications all false, defamatory, slanderous and libelous material about my client.”
The company was also given forty-eight hours to publish a “full” and “unqualified” retraction and apology to my client, approved in advance by me, on the front page of your online and printed publications.
Burke last month also filed suits against the Guyana Chronicle newspaper, the National Commutations Network (NCN) Television and the Brooklyn, New York-based PPP website Newguymedia.com. The website was recently taken down by its hosting company.
Jevon Suralie, the Institute’s Director of Communications, disclosed that Burke had a “recent encounter with the NYPD,” (New York Police Department), officers, which resulted in the issuance of a traffic violation summons.
Suralie said the NYPD’s Internal Affairs investigation found that Burke was exiting his parked car and was, therefore, not driving at the time.
“The incident led to the discovery that someone or persons have been driving under his [Burke] name, and that he was the victim of identity theft,” he said.
“The perpetrators accumulated multiple unpaid summonses, duplicate DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) records, and SCOFFS laws violations and judgments under Burke’s name, resulting in multiple license suspensions,” added Suralie, stating that the “perpetrators” also opened an HSBC Bank credit card account in Burke’s name.
“Rickford Burke is the victim of identity theft (and) DMV officials are working to sanitize his driving record,” said Suralie.
