ST JOHN’S, Antigua : In two weeks time a police officer and employee at the Treasury department will know whether they will face fines, jail time or both following their conviction for scamming the Treasury of close to $70,000.
At the end of the prosecution’s case against him, and a failed no case submission by attorney Lawrence Daniel yesterday, Corporal Artis Findley, who is attached to the Fire Department, decided to plead guilty.
He chose that option over letting the jury determine his fate in relation to the seven counts of obtaining money from the Treasury by pretending to be a pensioner.
Each of the seven pensioner’s cheques the officer cashed was made out for the payment of $9,939.21.
His co-accused Zelma Bramble admitted guilt a week ago to three of seven counts of causing monies to be paid to Findley knowing he was not a pensioner.
On July 20, Justice Keith Thom will deliver the sentence for the duo.
Among those who testified at Findley’s trial were his colleagues in the Royal Police Force of Antigua & Barbuda, workers from the Treasury as well as employees from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) where the cheques were cashed.
The key witness, a computer system analyst, picked up on the fraud that occurred between January 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010.
Director of Public Prosecutions Anthony Armstrong and Crown Counsel Shannon Jones represented the Crown.
