By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A “scam artist” allegedly deceived a Briland tourism operator into procuring a “fraudulent Business Licence” despite being paid a $2,000 sweetener to ensure its speedy issuance.

Pablo Conde, the now-estranged US partner in Conch & Coconut, asserted in an October 20, 2025, affidavit, that he was duped into thinking the fake permit - which caused the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Department of Inland Revenue to shut the company down - was a genuine and legitimate document.

Suggesting he and his associates were seeking to help Julian ‘Shaq’ Gibson, his former Bahamian partner with whom he is now embroiled in an increasingly bitter legal battle playing out in both this nation’s and the US courts, exhibits attached to Mr Conde’s affidavit reveal they made a $2,000 under-the-counter payment to “expedite” obtaining the Business Licence and beat the Department of Inland Revenue’s “backlog”.

Also featuring in Mr Conde’s affidavit, but with no involvement in Conch & Coconut’s Business Licence caper, is Senator Darron Pickstock, the Progressive Liberal Party’s (PLP) recently-ratified Golden Isles by-election candidate, who was the tour operator, destination management and visitor “concierge” provider’s Bahamian attorney.

The former US partner alleged that Mr Pickstock, who he claims to have been responsible for hiring, and Scott Silverman, Mr Gibson’s father, had “tried to force me into giving up the entirety of Conch & Coconut’s business to” his Bahamian partner on the basis the company had been structured as an “illegal ‘fronting scheme’” to evade the National Investment Policy’s stipulations that such operations are reserved exclusively for 100 percent Bahamian ownership only.

Mr Conde provides no evidence to back-up his claim of bring pressured to exit, and there is no suggestion that Mr Pickstock has done anything wrong in relation to the Conch & Coconut affair. 

He is now campaigning ahead of the November 24 by-election, and Tribune Business calls and messages sent to his cell phone were not responded to before press time last night.

However, it is the allegations regarding Conch & Coconut’s Business Licence that will likely receive most attention. If true, it again highlights the low-level, every-day corruption and”pay to play” culture that governance reformers such as the Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG) have long railed against when it comes to obtaining government permits and approvals.

Mr Gibson has alleged that the “fraudulent” Business Licence obtained by Mr Conde led to Conch & Coconut’s Harbour Island operations being shut down by Bahamian law enforcement and the Department of Inland Revenue. He added that this prompted him to split with his now-former US partner and establish Conch & Coconut Bahamas in May 2025 as a new, separate entity.

Yet Mr Conde, in his October 20, 2025, legal filings alleged: “After Gibson, failed to timely obtain a valid business license for himself and Conch & Coconut, [Conch & Coconut LLC, the Florida-based entity] attempted to help him by asking its Bahamian contacts for anyone who could help obtain a Business Licence on an expedited basis. 

“Unfortunately, the person that was recommended and ultimately used appears to have been a scam artist who provided the allegedly fraudulent Business Licence…. To-date, however, we have not been provided with any evidence or communication from the Government showing that it was actually a fraudulent licence.”

A May 14, 2025, affidavit sworn by Augusto Salinas, a Miami resident, alleged that he contacted a “friend” named ‘Jason Joseph’ on Mr Conde’s behalf in a bid to obtain Conch & Coconut’s Business Licence. He claims that ‘Jason’ told him he had a ‘contact’ named “Sweeting” in the Department of Inland Revenue, and said the permit’s issuance would be speeded-up in return for a $2,000 payment.

Mr Salinas’ affidavit, which is included in Mr Conde’s legal filings with the south Florida federal court, asserts: “Some time in 2024, Pablo Conde expressed his frustration with delays he was experiencing while assisting with renewal of Conch & Coconut’s Business Licence in The Bahamas. He explained that his company is a vendor for Conch & Coconut Ltd.

“I informed him that I knew an attorney that I believe had a friend/contact in the Department [of Inland Revenue] that issues Business Licences in The Bahamas. He requested my help, and I contacted my friend, whose name was Jason Joseph. Jason told us that he had a contact by the name of ‘Sweeting’. I do not remember the first name.

“Jason told me that the licence documentation would be expedited for $2,000 because there was a backlog and everyone’s licence was taking long. I informed Pablo and he agreed to pay the $2,000 in order to expedite the licence and also another form for Conch & Coconut that expired at the same time.” The nature of the $2,000 payment is not described, but is almost certainly a bribe or inducement to speed-up obtaining a Business Licence.

A check of the Bahamas Bar Association’s membership list revealed no attorney named ‘Jason Joseph’, so the identity and profession of the man Mr Salinas dealt with to procure the “fraudulent” Business Licence remains unclear. However, the affidavit reveals that Mr Salinas never informed Mr Gibson or his Briland-based team about any of this, and they appear not to have been involved.

“I assisted in good faith and did not ask, nor did I receive any money, for myself,” Mr Salinas asserted. “Pablo asked me if the attorney was above board or legitimate. I told him that as far as I knew he was a very good attorney. I believed, and still believe, in Jason Joseph’s integrity.

“If there is something wrong with the licence, I do not believe Jason had any knowledge of this. Once the licence was ready, I picked up a copy of the licence from the attorney and delivered it to Pablo Conde on two occasions, as one had expired earlier than the other.

“I was informed that the licence may have been fraudulent. If it is, I had no knowledge of this and certainly Pablo had no knowledge of this, as he relied on my representations and that of the attorney Joseph.”

Mr Conde, meanwhile, voiced suspicions that the “fraudulent” Business Licence issue had been exploited as a means for Mr Gibson to shut the original Conch & Coconut down and then launch a new business under the same name after cutting him out of the deal.

“Ultimately, however, this easily fixable issue – as evidenced by Gibson’s continued business under the Conch & Coconut Bahamas website and the servicing of Conch & Coconut customers by Conch & Coconut in May – is just an excuse to cut [me and the Florida entity] out of a multi-million dollar business, and to steal the Conch & Coconut marks, the Conch & Coconut trade secrets and the Conch & Coconut customers in the US,” Mr Conde alleged.

The former US partner previously asserted that he was forced “to step in and intervene with Bahamian authorities” to pay more than $550,000 in outstanding taxes, legal and consultancy fees to enable Mr Gibson to restart the Briland-based operations following previous tax enforcement actions. Despite this, the Department of Inland Revenue is allegedly still claiming that the Bahamian operation owes $825,000 in unpaid VAT and other taxes, of which $320,000 represents penalties and sanctions.

Mr Gibson, though, is arguing that his October 2023 deal with Mr Conde, which would see him acquire Conch & Coconut and all its Bahamas-based assets for a $725,711 purchase price to be paid over a ten-year period, also made the latter responsible for settling the outstanding $800,000-plus tax arrears. However, he is alleging his former US business partner has failed to live up to this commitment.

Mr Conde, in his October 20, 2025, affidavit, blamed the intervention of Mr Gibson’s father, Mr Silverman, for disrupting efforts to resolve the VAT and Business Licence fee arrears owed to the Department of Inland Revenue.

“Silverman became involved during this process and immediately adopted a caustic role, blaming Conch & Coconut and me for Gibson’s failures and inactions,” Mr Conde alleged.

“He and Darren Pickstock, a Bahamian senator and attorney that I had hired to represent both Conch & Coconut and Gibson, began trying to convince me that the business arrangement I had with Gibson was an illegal ‘fronting scheme’ and tried to force me into giving up the entirety of Conch & Coconut’s business to them.

“As part of Silverman’s threats to go public with this to the Bahamas Tribune, he demanded that I obtain for Conch & Coconut a Business Licence immediately. Conch & Coconut was Gibson’s company, and the management of Conch & Coconut was Gibson’s responsibility, including obtaining any necessary licences and permits and paying taxes. 

“Nevertheless, we attempted to help him get an expedited Business Licence. An affidavit explaining the circumstances of the Business Licence is attached. To-date, however, we have not been provided with any evidence or communication from the Government showing that it was actually a fraudulent licence.”

Tribune Business has never been contacted by or dealt with Mr Silverman.