A second contractor for the Bermuda Housing Corporation has claimed that alleged fraudster Terrence Smith used the organisation?s money for personal gain.

Electrician Nathan Ming told a Supreme Court jury yesterday that Smith instructed him to submit an overpriced bill to the BHC for his work, and then channelled the resulting overpayment into work on his luxury home.

Smith, who is accused of defrauding the BHC of more than $1.3 million, is said by the Crown to have done so by engaging carpenter Steven Barbosa in a similar scam.

Mr. Barbosa has given evidence that he submitted inflated requests for payment to the Corporation for work he did on its homes.

It is alleged that the defendant authorised these in his capacity as Property Officer while knowing they were fake, and was handed back the profits by Mr. Barbosa.

The accused man is said to have benefited through this method from more than $900,000 of cash and goods for his mansion in Tee Street, Devonshire between September 2000 and February 2002.

Giving evidence yesterday, Mr. Ming said that Delbie Borden of Borden?s Construction put him in touch with Terrence Smith who engaged him to work at Tee Street from around April 2001 alongside other contractors on major renovations.

Smith, he said, handed him $5,000 cash as a first payment and pledged to pay that sum every fortnight. The electrician ultimately received around $30,000 cash plus a $29,000 cheque.

While doing the Tee Street work, Mr. Ming said he was asked by Smith to do a job for the BHC at the Top Square housing complex in St. George?s.

However, when he presented Smith with a $2,650 invoice for this, Smith instructed him to add on $5,000 as he had pre-paid another contractor at the site out of his own pocket.

?I assumed that what he was telling me was true, so I did this,? Mr. Ming told the court. However, he said that when he received a BHC cheque for $7,650 reflecting the overpayment, Smith told him to keep the extra $5,000 as payment for the work at Tee Street.

?If I had thought it was wrong I would not have done it,? said Mr. Ming, who rejected Smith?s lawyer Larry Scott?s claim that he had invented this story. He also denied that he and Smith argued over money because he failed to finish the work at Tee Street.

The next witness was former BHC Finance Manager Robert Clifford, who is currently working as Chief Accountant at KPMG. He answered questions from Consultant to the DPP Kulandra Ratneser about policies and procedures during the time of the alleged fraud.

Mr. Clifford said that if a false invoice came in to the BHC, or an officer acted dishonestly, it would not be possible for anyone else to know this since the system relied on employees being honest and following procedures.

Quizzed on his role in signing cheques made out to Mr. Barbosa, he said: ?Had I known or suspected the invoices were false and part of some fraudulent scheme I would not have signed the cheque.?

The jury has already heard that Raymonde Dill worked between May 2000 and November 2001 as Property Manager at the BHC in addition to his main role as General Manager.

Mr. Clifford outlined instances where Mr. Dill, acting in his role as Property Manager, co-authorised with Terrence Smith invoices submitted by Mr. Barbosa.

He then co-signed cheques to the carpenter alongside Mr. Clifford in his capacity as General Manager. Mr. Clifford, Mr. Dill and Smith were all suspended from their posts at the BHC following an internal investigation in 2002.

Yesterday?s proceedings began with evidence from former Assistant Financial Officer at the BHC Lavonne Lee. She concluded evidence began on Monday by answering further questions about procedures.