By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A furious bust-up between US and Bahamian business partners has exposed alleged ‘fronting’ and hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes owed by a well-known Briland tourism operator.

Pablo Conde, who describes himself as the founder and owner of Conch & Coconut LLC, the Harbour Island-based “high-end concierge and destination management” provider, is accusing Julian ‘Shaq’ Gibson, who managed the business on his behalf, and others of stealing “the brand and business structure” that he financed and built.

His lawsuit, filed in the south Florida federal court last Friday September 5, claims that Mr Gibson and his associates have engaged in “theft of trade secrets” and “unfair competition” by obtaining Conch & Coconut’s customer data, and “cancelling” or closing out its existing bookings, ahead of launching a rival business offering the same services under the same brand name.

Mr Conde, who alleged that Conch & Coconut agreed to sell its business and all Bahamas-based assets to Mr Gibson in October 2023, with the latter to pay the $725,711 purchase price over a ten-year period, asserted that the deal stipulated he retain ownership of the company’s “intellectual property until the final payment was made”.

Now, claiming that none of the payments required under the deal have been made, Mr Conde is seeking unspecified damages on the grounds that his former Bahamian partner has engaged in “trademark counterfeiting” by continuing to use the ‘Conch & Coconut’ name and logo without permission as well as its ‘Crack Open the Good Life’ slogan.

Similarly, Mr Conde and Conch & Coconut LLC are also alleging that Mr Gibson and his associates have also interfered with the Pink Sand Spirits liquor brand that he founded in 2022. Mr Conde, claiming they formed and registered Pink Sands Spirits Ltd with the Bahamian Companies Registry in January 2025, is alleging they contacted his US-based distributor asserting he did not own Pink Sand.

And a prominent Bahamian real estate brokerage has also been dragged into the lawsuit by virtue of Mr Gibson acting as its Harbour Island agent. Corcoran CA Christie Bahamas has been named as a defendant, with Mr Conde alleging it has been “unjustly enriched” by Mr Gibson using Conch & Coconut’s “trade secret customer lists” to generate real estate business for the firm.

Gavin Christie, Corcoran C.A. Christie’s managing partner, yesterday told Tribune Business he had been unaware of the lawsuit or the company’s inclusion as a defendant until contacted by this newspaper. “That’s news to me,” he said. “That’s the first I’ve heard of it. They haven’t reached out to me. There’s no real claim to drag Corcoran C.A. Christie into it. I don’t have any comment on it.”

Mr Gibson last night told Tribune Business that Mr Conde’s lawsuit was a “knee jerk reaction” to his own legal action that will be filed in the Bahamian Supreme Court today. He accused his US partner of “making millions while I made very little”, leaving him “saddled with a large tax obligation” that he has been forced to settle with the Department of Inland Revenue.

And Mr Gibson said Conch & Coconut had again been raided and shut down by the Department of Inland Revenue in May 2025 over a “fraudulent” Business Licence, which he blamed on Mr Conde (see other article on Page 1B).

However, Mr Conde’s lawsuit alleges that - after meeting Mr Gibson in 2018 when the latter was unemployed and penniless - the duo built Conch & Coconut from just a $6,000 business that year into one with annual revenue of $3m in just four to five years.

The US legal action, though, reveals:

* Though not explicitly saying this, it asserts that Mr Gibson was effectively ‘fronting’ for Mr Conde as his “boots on the ground in The Bahamas” with the US partner providing the required financing and capital investment plus marketing and promotional services offshore via the Conch & Coconut brand.

This is despite services such as destination management, golf cart and boat rentals, and tours and excursions supposedly being exclusively reserved for 100 percent Bahamian ownership under the Government’s existing National Investment Policy.

* The legal documents allege that Mr Conde and Conch & Coconut were 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 Briland-based operations. They also reveal that Senator Darron Pickstock, an attorney with Glinton, Sweeting & O’Brien, was hired to help regularise its affairs.

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 Conde and Conch & Coconut are blaming this on Mr Gibson’s alleged failure “to keep reliable accounting records, with the Bahamian tax authorities “questioning its books” from 2018 through to 2021.

Tribune Business reported in March 2023 how Mr Gibson and Conch & Coconut had some of their assets seized after Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) officials, supported by the Royal Bahamas Police Force, conducted an island-wide sweep of companies suspected of not being properly licensed, failing to pay VAT and other due taxes, and under-declaring or under-reporting revenues.

Mr Gibson, when questioned about this at the time, told this newspaper: “You can contact my lawyer. That’s some incorrect information. That’s some false information. That’s news to me.”

When it was pointed out that virtually all of Harbour Island was talking about the tax authorities’ sweep, he replied: “By the time it hits the right corner it misses some turns and insights. I’m not at liberty to speak on that. There’s nothing going on. We’re still cracking open the good life.”

Mr Conde, who described Conch & Coconut and ‘Crack open the good life’ as registered US trademarks he already owns, alleged in his lawsuit that the business was established in 2017. He added that he also owns registered and unregistered trademarks associated with the Pink Sand Spirits brand.

“Conch & Coconut was founded in 2017 by Conde and his family, with a mission to provide a one-stop shop for US citizens and residents looking to vacation at Harbour Island, Bahamas, with a reputable and trustworthy company that would provide high-end concierge and destination management services to keep a trip organised and trouble-free,” Mr Conde and his company alleged.

“Importantly, the goal was to organise the effort and services on Harbour Island for the benefit of that community, because at the time travel and vacation services provided on Harbour Island predominately emanated from more established and better organised businesses located in Spanish Wells, Bahamas....

“Gibson managed his operation locally with his company but was not in a position to inject the required capital into his operations, so Conch & Coconut purchased the assets. Gibson could not have provided the services marketed by Conch & Coconut whatsoever without the investments made by Conch & Coconut.”

Mr Conde alleged that Conch & Coconut launched its concierge and destination management services to US tourists in 2018, “offering a single point of service from which various services on the island could be booked and managed”. This included organising private charter bookings and transportation.

This occurred after he “met and befriended” Mr Gibson while travelling in The Bahamas. “In 2018, Gibson was jobless, living in Nassau and reached out to Conde asking to borrow money to make rent. Conde would not give him a loan but offered to teach him how to make money with hard work and determination. Conde shared his vision on what Conch & Coconut could become with Gibson,” the lawsuit alleged.

“On or about May 2018, Conch & Coconut licensed Gibson to provide on-the-ground rental and charter services under the Conch & Coconut marks for Conch & Coconut, beginning with just one golf cart. Gibson, as a Bahamian national, would be the boots on the ground in The Bahamas, while Conch & Coconut would market and promote services under its Conch & Coconut marks in the US, and generate demand for services to be rendered by Gibson on Harbour Island.”

Mr Conde added: “Conch & Coconut invested millions in purchasing, maintaining and upgrading the vehicles it promotes to tourists on Harbour Island that were leased to Gibson, initially under a verbal agreement. The verbal agreement was later memorialised in writing in October 2023.

“Conch & Coconut has spent hundreds of thousands of US dollars marketing and promoting its services, including attending trade shows as well as upgrading its website and technology in the US. Conch & Coconut further extensively advertised throughout Harbour Island, including buying signage throughout the island.

“From 2018 through 2023, Conch & Coconut served thousands of customers and grew its business from under $6,000 of revenue in 2018 to generating almost $3m of revenue per year in 2022 and 2023. Conch & Coconut has established itself as a premier provider of concierge, and vehicle and rental services, in The Bahamas to US customers,” he asserted.

“The high-quality nature of Conch & Coconut’s services is evidenced at least by its 4.9 rating over 220 reviews on tripadvisor.com, including 210 reviews with five-star ratings. Conch & Coconut also has over 13,000 followers on its Instagram account.”

Mr Conde and Conch & Coconut LLC alleged that, through their partnership, Mr Gibson was able to hire new Bahamian staff and become a “reputable businessman in good standing in Harbour Island”, which facilitated his employment by Corcoran C.A. Christie.

However, difficulties arose after Mr Gibson allegedly failed to register for, file and pay accurate VAT returns to the Department of Inland Revenue despite promising Mr Conde that he would do so. In 2021, Letamae Johnson (formerly DeCosta), a Bahamas resident also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, was hired to provide accounting services and ensure the VAT filings were properly handled.

By 2023, Mr Conde and Conch & Coconut LLC said that “business had grown to the point” where they advised Mr Gibson to form his own Bahamas-domiciled company, Conch & Coconut Ltd, to manage operations on Harbour Island. Mr Pickstock was retained at this time, and alleged that he “was aware of the structure” and Mr Conde’s desire to comply with all relevant Bahamian laws.

“In April 2023, Gibson again failed to properly file Conch & Coconut Ltd’s VAT registration in The Bahamas, and filed false forms with the Bahamian government regarding Conch & Coconut Ltd’s revenues, leading to a seizure of Conch & Coconut assets that had been registered in The Bahamas under Gibson and/or Conch & Coconut Ltd and a shutting down of the Gibson’s operations in the Bahamas,” the lawsuit claimed.

“Due to Gibson’s mismanagement... in operating Conch & Coconut Ltd, Conch & Coconut LLC had to step in to intervene with Bahamian authorities, and paid over $550,000 in back taxes, legal fees and consultants to get The Bahamas to allow Conch & Coconut Ltd to operate again.

“Upon information and belief, The Bahamas government still claims a balance of approximately $825,000, including $320,000 in penalties, remains which was still being negotiated with The Bahamas at the time defendants breached and began their tortious conduct,” Mr Conde and his company alleged.

“The excessive amounts sought by the Bahamian government arise out of Gibson’s negligence in accounting, including failure to keep reliable accounting records and failure to deposit cash payments. However, Gibson intervened to refuse to allow Conch & Coconut LLC to participate in settlement discussions with Bahamian authorities despite Conch & Coconut LLC being responsible for paying taxes.”

Mr Conde alleged that a review of the Briland operator’s books for the four-year period between 2018 and 2021 showed $35,283 in cancelled bookings “suspiciously marked as ‘paid in cash’”, plus $94,472 marked as ‘balance due/unpaid bookings; and $154,740 in ‘due now’ bookings that were not paid. Another $68,000 in bookings were marked as cancelled after the due date with no explanation.

There was a further “failure to report approximately $310,000 in cash transactions, leading to the Bahamas Department of Inland Revenue questioning Conch & Coconut Ltd’s books from 2018-2021, further complicating settlement negotiations with the Bahamas government, and approximately $30,000 in cash transactions and direct transfers to unknown accounts”.

“On or about October 2024, Conch & Coconut LLC hired an independent auditor to review the Conch & Coconut Ltd/Gibson’s accounting records and to propose a fair settlement negotiation to the Bahamian Government,” Mr Conde and his company alleged.

“The independent tax audit revealed that Conch & Coconut Ltd, Gibson and Johnson improperly assessed the basis for the VAT taxes, submitting incorrect information to the Bahamian government, failing to properly designate and identify owner contributions and account for other pass-through expenses, and failed to keep proper accounting records.

“Conch & Coconut Ltd, Gibson, and Johnson’s negligence... led to the Bahamian government suspecting Conch & Coconut Ltd and Gibson of fraud and assessing the VAT taxes using the wrong basis, which substantially inflated the VAT taxes assessed by The Bahamas for prior years,” the lawsuit continued.

“But [for this], the taxes already paid by Conch & Coconut would have covered and exceeded Conch & Coconut Ltd’s actual tax liability by over $100,000. The auditor proposed a plan to resolve this issue with Bahamian authorities. Ultimately, Gibson declined to proceed with the auditor’s recommendation to fix the situation....”

But, prior to the auditor’s hiring, Mr Conde and Mr Gibson agreed an October 2023 deal where the latter would acquire the Conch & Coconut Bahamas operations, and all its assets, for $725,711 with the price to be paid over ten years via 120 payments of $8,805 each, totalling $1.057m, and a final buyout option of $5,000. The assets were valued at $730,711.

The agreement included non-compete clauses, and stipulated that Mr Conde would retain ownership of all trademarks and intellectual property until its completion. Mr Gibson would be responsible for all taxes going forward, and Mr Conde and his company would “continue to assist in negotiating and paying its past tax liability in The Bahamas using proceeds and revenues during the 10-year transition period”.

However, Mr Conde alleged that Mr Gibson’s Conch & Coconut operation was “shut down” by Bahamas Customs in April 30, 2024, for failing to pay $30,000 in duties on imported supplies and only allowed to re-open after this was clear.

Then, in late March 2025, his former Bahamian partner demanded $15,000 per month “as installment payments for back VAT taxes owed to the Bahamas by Conch & Coconut Ltd”. Mr Conde alleged that Mr Gibson never provided documents to show such a payment arrangement was made with the Department of Inland Revenue, and he only paid the first $15,000 requested.

“An accounting statement was requested in order to audit and better understand the distribution of more than $4.2m spent for the period in question. This request was ignored,” Mr Conde alleged. Then, on May 16, 2025, Mr Gibson and Scott Silverman, a former US attorney described as the former’s stepfather, reported that the Bahamian operation was closing down.

They alleged that “the Bahamian authorities had shut down Conch & Coconut Ltd’s business due to non-payment of back VAT taxes, notwithstanding Conch & Coconut LLC providing $15,000 to Conch & Coconut Ltd for payment of same”.

Mr Conde, though, alleged that at the same time Johnson “began to edit Conch & Coconut LLC’s existing bookings, cancelling them or lowering the total pricing for the booking to match the deposit amount, in order to close out the booking.

“On information and belief, Conch & Coconut LLC’s customers were still being serviced, but Conch & Coconut Ltd took payments outside of Conch & Coconut Ltd’s booking platform to cut Conch & Coconut out, despite the fact that Conch & Coconut’s operation was allegedly ‘shutdown’.”

He added that Conch & Coconut’s booking data, and customer data “including over 10,000 records”, were downloaded by Mr Gibson and his fellow defendants around the same time in mid-May 2025. Then, on June 18, 2025, Mr Gibson sent an e-mail to clients announcing the launch of a new website using the Conch & Coconut name and offering the same services as under their arrangement.

“Defendants have collectively ignored Conch & Coconut LLC’s cease and desist letters, and have continued to infringe and unlawfully use the Conch & Coconut LLC trade secrets they misappropriated,” Mr Conde and his firm asserted.