Two Inland Revenue officers face fraud trial after years-long delay in Barbados court
Two Inland Revenue Department employees accused of a $45,000 deception scheme have been awaiting trial since before 2018. The State says it bears no blame for the prolonged delay.
Prosecution defends record as civil servants' fraud case drags on past seven years
Two Inland Revenue Department employees charged with criminal deception over an alleged $45,000 scheme have yet to stand trial, with their case having sat before Barbados's High Court since at least 2018 — and possibly longer, according to Barbados Today.
Joseph Nathaniel Sobers, a clerical officer from Pie Corner, St Lucy, and Cheryl Leverne Thomas, an assistant accountant from Kingsland, Christ Church, are jointly charged with attempting to dishonestly obtain $45,000 from a man named Shane Hurley between August 12, 2008 and June 22, 2009. Prosecutors allege the pair falsely told Hurley he owed the Inland Revenue Department $375,000 and that paying $45,000 would settle that debt in full.
Both are also charged with wilful misconduct as public officers — an abuse of public trust, according to the charges — for soliciting that payment while employed at the department.
State denies responsibility for the slow pace
When the matter was called before Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell in No. 4 Supreme Court, Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale SC pushed back firmly against any suggestion that the State had contributed to the delays.
"We have been trying to get this matter going," Seale told the court. "This is not a high-profile case in that it is not a murder, but it involves two public servants that have been on suspension for a protracted time and we want to get the matter dealt with and disposed of."
Seale, prosecuting alongside Acting Senior State Counsel Paul Prescod, acknowledged the toll the years of inaction had taken — on witnesses, on complainants, and on the department itself.
"Time runs against us because I am sure a lot of the persons from that department have resigned, and that's the level of frustration," Seale said. "I hope that when the time comes, I do not hear anything about delay."
Death of defence attorney among factors cited
Part of the delay, Seale indicated, stemmed from the involvement of the late attorney Ezra Alleyne, who had previously acted in the matter. After Alleyne's death, the case was passed to another lawyer, and progress, Seale said, had been slow — "going like the proverbial molasses going up a hill."
The acting DPP addressed calls to simply discontinue long-running cases, cautioning against that approach without proper scrutiny. "People talk about discontinuing matters that have been going on too long, but we have to find and examine the reason carefully as to why matters have been going on so long before we talk about just disposing of old matters, because this involves the State," he said.
Witnesses and next steps
Seale confirmed that the prosecution is prepared to read in the evidence of any witnesses who were not available when proceedings first got under way. "We are ready to pursue this matter to the end," he told the court.
Sobers is represented by attorney Sian Lange in association with Senior Counsel Andrew Pilgrim. Defence lawyer Sade Harris represents Thomas. Justice Smith-Bovell adjourned the case to July 27.
Source: Barbados Today