Georgetown: Senior Superintendent Marcelene Washington, former Deputy Commander Lorraine Saul and Deputy Assistant Superintendent Frank Jackman-Wilburg Wednesday faced several charges relating to fraud when they appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
The charges were instituted by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) of the Guyana Police Force. Only Wilburg appeared in court since the other defendants are out of the jurisdiction.
The first charge stated that Saul, Washington, and Wilburg between November 2, 2020 and December 3, 2020, at the Guyana Police Force Headquarters, Eve Leary, Kingston, Georgetown, with intent to defraud, conspired with each other as other persons while being officers, employed by the GPF, to falsify an account, being a feeding account in the sum of $2,246,400,00 in relation to meals purportedly provided by the Felix Austin Police College Mess to ranks who performed fixed point duty at Mounted Branch between October 16, 2020, and October 31, 2020.
It is further alleged that the trio on November, 2, 2020 and December 3, 2020, at the Guyana Police Force Headquarters, Eve Leary, Kingston, Georgetown, with intent to defraud, conspired with each other as other persons while being officers, employed by the GPF, to falsify an account, being a feeding account in the sum of $1,440,000,00 in relation to meals purportedly provided by the Felix Austin Police College Mess to ranks who performed fixed point duty at Mounted Branch between October 16, 2020, and October 31, 2020.
Wilburg was not allowed to plead to the indictable charges and was released on $300,000 bail. He was instructed to make his next court appearance on May 6.
Earlier this month, Saul along with Assistant Superintendent Kurt Smith were slapped with similar charges.
It is being alleged that they defrauded the GPF of close to $2 million.
The first charge stated that between December 18, 2020, and December 28, 2020, at Georgetown, they conspired with each other and other persons while being officers of GPF to falsify a payment in the sum of $1,350,000 to show that meals were supplied to ranks of the Riot Unit training during December 1, 2020, and December 15, 2020.
It was further alleged that between December 18, 2020, and December 28, 2020, at Georgetown, they conspired with each other and other persons while being officers of the GDF to falsify a payment account in the sum of $465,000 to show that meals were supplied to ranks of Riot Unit training during December 1, 2020, and December 15, 2020.
ASP Smith was not required to plead to the indictable charges. He was ordered to post bail in the sum of $100,000. Smith is expected to make another court appearance on May 14, 2021.
SOCU has been actively investigating several cases of fraud recently as investigators discovered hundreds of millions of dollars were siphoned off at the Guyana Police Force finance department.
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