Written By Marlene Freeman

Two public sector workers have been charged in relation to a million-dollar pension fraud scheme.

They are Administrative Assistant at the Institute of Jamaica, Dorett Mullings and Life Certificate Officer at the Accountant General’s Department, Orion Satchell.

Ms. Mullings has been charged with possession of criminal property, receiving stolen property and conspiracy to defraud.

Mr. Satchell faces charges of conspiracy to defraud and misconduct in a public office.

In a statement, the Financial Investigations Division (FID) said the charges follow a probe conducted jointly with the Constabulary Force’s Financial Unit.

Reports are that between March 2017 and May 2018, Mr. Satchell requested and manipulated life certificates for various pensioners whose banking information was fraudulently changed to reflect an account held by Ms. Mullings at a local credit union.

This allowed 17 pension payments of just over a million dollars to be funnelled into Ms. Mullings’ account.

The funds were withdrawn shortly after each deposit.

The accused were arrested in April and May this year, then charged after being interviewed in the presence of their attorneys.

Both appeared before the Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Court on May 29.

The court ordered that case disclosure must be completed by July 1.

The matter is set for mention on October 6.

Stop orders have been issued for both accused, and they are to surrender their travel documents.

They are also both required to comply with a fingerprint order issued by the court and are to report to the police twice weekly between 6:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M.

The FID said this case highlights an abuse of trust, where public officers are accused of manipulating official records and exploiting pensioners to siphon funds for personal gain.

Such actions represent a serious breach of ethical and legal standards.

The Revenue Protection Department (RPD) in the Finance Ministry identified abnormalities pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act and shared the relevant findings with the FID.

Commissioner of the RPD, Mr. Cranston Morgan, emphasised the importance of collaboration between government entities in detecting and addressing fraud.