Former ECFML worker, who stole over $100,000, ordered to repay company
A former employee of the East Caribbean Flour Mills Limited (ECFML), who stole over $100,000 of the companyâs money, has been ordered to repay what he stole, failing which, he will be imprisoned.
Romaldo Williams, who was charged with seven counts of theft, pleaded guilty when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias at the Serious Offences Court on Wednesday.
According to the facts of the case, Williams was employed by the ECFML as an accounts payable clerk. Between the period October 9 to 11, 2015, Orchard Solutions, a Barbados-based software consultancy company, started upgrading the accounting software used by the ECFML, and discovered several abnormalities.{{more}}
They found that a number of transactions had been processed without the requisite authorization.
On October 12, the Bank of Nova Scotia contacted Emmanuel Daize, the accountant at ECFML and requested information concerning a deposit of $12,878.11, which had been made into Williamsâ account.
The accountant was unable to identify the amount which was deposited, so he requested that the cheque be cancelled and returned to the company.
When the cheque was received, Daize noticed his signature affixed to it, but the cheque was not prepared by him.
He reported the matter to the CEO Osmond Davy and an internal investigation began.
The investigation revealed seven deposits made into Williamsâ account between the period October 2014 and July 2015.
Williams, who was on suspension during the investigation, was summoned to a meeting on October 14, 2015 with the companyâs executive.
During the meeting, he admitted to depositing the amounts, which totalled $103,804.74, into his account at the Bank of Nova Scotia and agreed to repay the company.
When Daize took the witness stand on Tuesday, he revealed that Williams had made several repayments, but still owed the company $63,835.52.
Ronnie Marks, who is representing Williams, pleaded with Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias not to impose a custodial sentence, so that Williams, who is now an employee at Glossy Bay in Canouan, can repay the outstanding amount to the ECFML.
The chief magistrate ordered that Williams repay his former employer $20,000 of the outstanding amount by September 5, 2016. If he does not, he will be imprisoned for eight months. He was also ordered to pay the balance of $43,835.52 by March 31, 2017. In default, he will spend 14 months in prison. He was also bonded to keep the peace for two years. (CA)
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