Three women were on Tuesday jailed for four years each after they were found guilty of fraudulently converting in excess of G$48 million from Telecom Solutions (Guyana).
Initially, the women – Melissa Naughton, 39, of Robert Street, Better Hope, East Coast Demerara; Candacie Marshall, 26, of North Ruimveldt, Georgetown; and Oladara Christian, 28, of Shell Road, Kitty, Georgetown; had all pleaded not guilty to the charge.
In a packed courtroom before City Magistrate Leron Daly, the sentence was handed down to the three tearful women while the Magistrate noted that the women of mature ages were fully aware of their actions and continued.
The charge stated that between June 25, 2008 and November 23, 2009, they conspired together with other persons to embezzle in excess of G$48 million in credit from Telecom Solutions Inc.
The Magistrate stated that the court and society condemn the exploitation of employees towards employers.
Defence Attorney Glen Hanoman who represented Naughton and Christian requested that the court grant his clients non-custodial sentences based on President David Granger’s remark that “there is no place for women in prison.”
The trio was found guilty by Magistrate Daly on August 31, 2016, after it was found that the prosecution had proven its case against the women beyond reasonable doubt.
The women’s lawyers at the previous court hearing – Adrian Thompson, Ronald Burch-Smith and Everton Singh Lammy – had requested probation reports on the women after they were found guilty of the offence.
In 2011, the women were employees of the company where Naughton and Christian served in the capacities of cashiers, which they were responsible for selling large amounts of Digicel credit via a computerised system.
It was reported that Marshall was the person who, from time to time, solicited the customers.
According to reports, the two cashiers had invalidated several transactions which were written off, after which they would revalidate those transactions and sell them to persons and receive the proceeds for themselves.
As usual what happen to the big crooks that this government spent millions to investigate.?