Another illegal sale of Mullet Bay – StMaartenNews.com – News Views Reviews

Dear Editor,

I am writing to bring to your attention a matter of serious concern regarding what will be another illegal sale of Mullet Bay and hence bring the attention to the questionable sales of Cupy Coy in 1956 and Mullet Bay in 1957. I do believe everything happens for a reason and every bad deed brings more bad Karma to Sint Maarten and its people and it needs to stop.

It has come to my attention in my research, that both Cupy Coy or Cul Ricard now known as Cupecoy in 1956 and Mullet Pond Lands now known as Mullet Bay in 1957 may have both been transferred without rightful ownership or due process, undermining the interests of all heirs involved.

Evidence suggests procedural violations were committed during the sales process, including using fake power of attorneys that didn’t exist in there originating places, to appointing willy nilly mandatories for those rightful heirs who were not present and had no knowledge of the land transfer and sale. No real money was actually paid in some cases for those transfer and sales of lands, but it was documented that it took place.

Evidence suggest that AC Wathey a prominent politician at that time acted as VERBALLY appointed mandatory with full power of attorney rights, transferred people lands to subsequent LTD’s like for example Lawaetz Land Development using invented power of attorneys. This company was formed on Sint Maarten in August 1957 for that purpose.

It is my understanding that a lot of these LTD’s NV’s like Lawaetz Land Development, Cupecoy Bay NV, Bay Red Enterprise NV, Caribbean Beach Resorts, and Sun Resorts LTD NV still exist today with shareholders and directors being passed on to family members of those involved in those questionable land sales and transfers of 1956 and 1957.

In the Peterson family case Cupy Coy was supposedly transferred to Eric Lawaetz in 1956 from the Peterson heirs on January 21st 1956 and then transferred again one year later in November 1957 from Lawaetz for the same amount to the company LAWAETZ LAND DEVELOPMENT LTD NV and Wathey held the verbally appointed mandatory for Eric Lawaetz. If only pigs could fly.

One many ask how do I know these companies still exist? That same Lawaetz Land Development LTD NV came up in one of my sisters many cases for a piece of property she bought in Cupecoy in the 80’s with a border issue. The irony of it is my late father had told her she bought a piece of her own land.

Helping my sister with these cases helped me to discover and understand how AC Wathey along with the then acting Notary and others as witnesses were able to transfer property from unsuspecting heirs. They did that by using false power

of attorneys and appointing directors of Ltds and NVs formed in Sint Maarten as mandatories and kept transferring from one NV to another and another and another.

In my sisters case, this keeps her in court with ongoing cases because every new case is because the land owner keeps changing with another company name but it is the same people behind them acting as directors and shareholders.

It was very easy at that time to write deeds to look like it had all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed because there was no supervision and to a certain extent there is still no good supervision for Notaries and entities like Kadaster to this day in Sint Maarten. Nepotism is still very much alive. I have coined another term “Crabotism” which is the art of pulling down your own people by any means so that one can get ahead of them. We see that with the recent nasty election tactics that were used.

Although many of these NV’s may be dormant, they still hold title too many Cupecoy lots that were not sold to wealthy US Investors in 1957 and onward and are still in the hands of family members or close personal friends of the few involved in those questionable transfers of the lands in the 1950’s-1980’s.

How did we get here? A few History Points:

Simpson Bay was named after John Simpson, who led the Dutch Party in 1667. In 1631, the Dutch established a trading post and built Fort Amsterdam.

In 1648, the Dutch and French signed the Treaty of Concordia, which divided the island between them.

From the 18th to 19th centuries, the island’s economy was based on plantations that produced salt, indigo, cotton, tobacco, and sugar. At one point there were 92 such Plantations.

St. Maarten became a duty-free port in 1939.

In 1956, Sint Maarten was involved in the signing of the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty since we were a colony of the the Dutch Netherlands. The (DAFT) is a bilateral agreement between the United States and the Netherlands.

The Purpose of the treaty is to promote trade and commercial relations between the Dutch and US as countries. The Benefits of the treaty allows American citizens and their families to obtain residency in the Netherlands, and it also allows Dutch traders and investors to do business in the US.

American citizens can obtain a Dutch residence permit to start a business in the Netherlands if they invest a minimum of €4,500 in their business. The permit is initially valid for two years, but can be extended for five years if the entrepreneur can show that their company’s equity has remained at least €4,500. The treaty also allows qualifying expats to receive a 30% tax break on their gross salary.

This is still the law today and Nina Ansary daughter of US citizen Hushang Ansay used many of the aspects of this Treaty in her cases against CBCS. The reason she lost her cases may very well be due to the fact that Hushang Ansary was not the rightful owner or director of Sun Resorts but he was still able to transfer shares of Sun Resorts held in Mullet Bay to ENNIA.

Why do we not investigate that is beyond me or maybe that is a well-kept secret that is supposed to be kept buried??

Wathey used this DAFT treaty to connect Sint Maarten to the outer world in the 1950’s, but in the process he deceptively deprived many born Sint Maarten heirs of their inheritance rights to land and future wealth with the illegal sales of many such properties.

Some may say he did good and brought tourism to the Island, but it was at the expense of born Sint Maarten heirs and solely for the purpose to increase his own wealth without a vision for Sint Maarten in the future.

These actions not only affected the immediate parties involved which are all the heirs to Cupy Coy for Bill Peterson, but have also had long-lasting implications for the community and local heritage.

I am almost certain my great grandfather wanted to continue to develop Cupy Coy into plantations that grew sugarcane, Guavaberries, Guavas, and Sugar Apples. Sint Maarten today maybe would be able to feed their people in hard times if these lands were used for that purpose. Bill Peterson died in 1937 mysteriously and not many know he owned Cupy Coy.

I can only tell the history of Cupy Coy or Cul Ricard as that is my heritage. It is up to those whose interest lies in Mullet Bay to further investigate that matter like how the Government may still have ownership of Mullet Bay after so many years because that sale and transfer was not legal in 1957 and hence the transfer in 1971 to Sun Resorts may not have been legal.

Simpson Bay in St. Maarten has a rich history, from a fishing town to a vibrant tourist destination. It was once a collection of settlements for fishermen, where residents would buy fish. They were cut off from the Main land and so I believe it is those fisherman families who owned the entire Simpson Bay right back to French side and they were finagled out of their lands in deceptively similar manners. One recent prime example was the “The Lee Halley Case”.

The earliest Peterson were 3 brothers from Denmark: 1746 John Peterson, 1749 James Peterson, and 1755 Peter Peterson. I can bore you the reader to death with the Peterson family tree but that is neither here nor there.

I want it to be known in History that Cupy Coy or Cul Ricard now known as Cupecoy was legally bought with every rights of landownership possible by William Charles “Bill” Peterson in April 1911 from a retired Judge from Saint Barths Ernest Foudier and usufruct rights from Sint Maarten land cultivator Henri Barrabas. That deed was duly recorded in Book C Volume 10 number 11. This deed was very well written with descriptions as to how the sellers received Ownership and Usufruct rights.

A stark contrast to the orchestrated 1956 and 1957 deeds transferring the Cupy Coy lands from the Peterson heirs of the late William Charles Peterson written by the then acting Notary.

Addressing this injustice is essential for restoring faith in property rights and legal frameworks of Sint Maarten. It is crucial for the integrity of our real estate practices that such historical transgressions are acknowledged and rectified.

It is crucial and essential for Notaries and entities like Kadaster to have full supervision and strict guidelines but we all know that a lot of people are paid to oversee the overseers and we still end up with situations like ENNIA and GEBE.

It is my firm belief that if Mullet Bay is deceptively sold again by people who don’t have the right to sell it, more bad KARMA is coming Sint Maarten way because every bad deed follows with same or like energy.

Shandrika Peterson

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