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FLORIDA'S Third District Court of Appeal on Wednesday upheld a US$131 million judgment against businessman Steve Ferguson, concluding nearly two decades of litigation over fraud tied to the Piarco airport expansion.

A three-judge panel on September 10, affirmed a Miami-Dade jury’s finding that Ferguson engaged in civil fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud and violations of Florida’s Civil Remedies for Criminal Practices Act, known as Florida’s Civil RICO Act. The ruling closes a 19-year case centred on inflated contracts for the Piarco International Airport project.

Appellate judges Thomas Logue, Monica Gordo and Fleur Lobree held that Trinidad and Tobago, which filed suit in 2004, suffered a “domestic injury” in Florida because much of the conspiracy was planned and executed in Miami.