Former GDF Sgt jailed for Ministry of Finance scam

Oct 09, 2014 News

A former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Sergeant who strolled into the Ministry of Finance three days before Christmas in 2010 and walked away with a legitimate $2.8M cheque has been jailed for thirty six-months on conspiracy charges.

Guilty: Colleen Easton

Magistrate Judy Latchman in passing her sentence on Colleen Wendella Easton, yesterday, said that the 60-year-old simply armed herself with her national identification card and strolled away with the money belonging to the State.
Easton, a resident of Ogle Front, East Coast Demerara, was found guilty of the offence, which stated that on December 22, 2010 at Georgetown, she conspired with person or persons unknown to commit a felony, to obtain money by false pretense.
The Court heard that the ex-Sergeant obtained the sum of $2,892,000 with a Bank of Guyana cheque number 04:062408 issued by the Accountant General Department, Ministry of Finance, property of the State.
Following intense investigations, Easton was one of several persons tracked down and arrested after a wanted bulletin was issued. She had first appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton on July 20, 2011 and pleaded not guilty. She was placed on $125,000 bail.
The Court had heard that Easton was the mother-in-law of Nigel Adams who was charged several times in the said investigations of fraud in the Ministry of Finance.
It was reported that on December 22, 2010, Easton was escorted to the Ministry by her son-in-law who caused her to uplift the $2.8M cheque in her name.
The ex-Sergeant encashed the cheque at the Bank of Guyana and handed over the cash to Adams who then rewarded her with $5000. Following investigations into discrepancies with the Ministry’s finances, Easton was charged in the matter.
The ex-Sergeant had in fact made over 45 court appearances before different Magistrates – some of whom had recused themselves from the matter. The trial later landed before Magistrate Latchman who returned her verdict yesterday.
The case was prosecuted by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Prosecutor, Sergeant Vishnu Hunt, who called a total of eight witnesses to the stand.
Among those who testified were three policemen, two employees of the Ministry of Finance, two officials from Bank of Guyana (BOG) as well as an official in the Auditor General’s office.
Leading her defence, Easton, who was represented by Attorney-at-Law George Thomas, had explained that all she had done was to collect a cheque for her son-in-law, Nigel Adams and changed it.
She said she handed over the cash to him, who then gave her $5000 to buy lunch. The ex-Sergeant had declined to call any witnesses to support her case.
Returning her verdict, Magistrate Latchman sentenced the 60-year-old to 36-months in prison.
Similarly, Adams who was held for investigations in the Ministry of Finance discrepancies was last week jailed by Magistrate Ann McLennan on fraud charges.