A former employee of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is to be sentenced on July 31 after pleading guilty to charges relating to larceny as a servant and money laundering. 

35-year-old Alvira Campbell pleaded guilty in the Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Court last Wednesday. 

In a statement this morning the Major Organised Crime and Anti-corruption Agency (MOCA) said, Campbell was arrested and charged in 2022 following an investigation, which was prompted by a 2018 internal audit, at the ministry. 

The audit had revealed several irregularities within the public assistance department, which is responsible for reviewing applications and disbursing aid under the Rehabilitation Program. 

According to MOCA, the audit revealed that between January 2014 and November 2017, Campbell exploited her position to illegally obtain a total of $807,500.

The funds were reportedly used to cover Campbell’s tuition fees, at the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean and her son’s tuition fees at the MICO Foundation.

MOCA’s Director of Communications, Major Basil Jarrett says the development underscores the serious consequences of corruption and other illegal activities in the public sector.

He is imploring Jamaicans to continue to report to MOCA about fraud, corruption and organized crime.