A fraud amounting to at least $3.3m has been uncovered in the Georgetown Municipality’s City Treasury Department and this may just be the tip of a multi-million dollar iceberg.A source close to the issues said that the matter should be going to the police by weekend following the discovery of the fraud.The source after initial internal investigations informed that while there may be several perpetrators, at least one conspirer (facilitator) is currently working in the City Treasury Department.Suspicions are now high that several other interviews and statements are to be conducted and collected to ascertain if similar frauds have occurred. The case at hand involves one missing receipt for the $3.3 million. There is also a suspicion that the fraud might have been conducted electronically.Recommendations are that as part of investigations the Information Technology administrator, or one suitable qualified, may have to immediately undertake to ascertain from whose workstation the fraudulent amendments were made earlier this week, and if possible on Feb 17, last.This could include an extensive examination of the current software system in use at the Municipality and chances are, no one from the CTD would be allowed to access the taxpayer system for an undetermined time span.Immediate actions could be taken to ascertain if receipts #’s 098 to 100 from volume 1612 have already been fraudulently put to use.An “irregularity” first came to the attention of some officers of the City Treasurer’s Department (CTD) on June 2,Wholesale Jerseys From China, last. A preliminary report on a suspected fraudulent rate payment on Lot 70, Blygezight Gardens, Campbellville, Georgetown in the name of C. Hilliman and others began on June 3.Information was compiled based on an initial perusal of documentary evidence and oral submissions supplied by officers of the Georgetown Municipality and other “parties” to this transaction.A comprehensive examination of the documentary evidence, including the statements which have been officially requested from parties to this transaction, along with interviews this publication understands will be available in a few days time.According to inside sources the property is believed to be in the name of Clifford and Grace Hilliman; siblings,Cheap Jerseys, who are both deceased and there are apparently two houses on the lot.Wyatt Amsterdam, the husband and executor of the estate of G. Hilliman, occupy one of the buildings with their children while “Dolly” Hilliman, purportedly the wife of C. Hilliman occupies the other.It is alleged that Dolly Hilliman made attempts to sell the property to Martina Bacchus of Martina’s Cambio and the Attorney General’s Chambers and her reputed husband Vaughn Felix, of the Guyana Revenue Authority.As part of the terms of the sale, Bacchus and Felix were to liquidate outstanding rates and taxes on the property, thereby obtaining a compliance to facilitate the sale / transfer of ownership. This was reportedly done on February 17, 2009.Amsterdam apparently filed an injunction restraining this action, currently being heard by the Chief Justice. According to the inside source it appears that Bacchus and Felix were to be reimbursed for the rates paid.Amsterdam, through his daughter’s enquiries on the morning of June 2, submitted to the court that payments were made to the tune of $220,000 while Bacchus and Felix submitted that they had made rate payments on the property amounting to over $3.5 million.Both parties, apparently at the behest of the court, approached the Georgetown Municipality, through the City Treasurer’s Department for official confirmation and clarification of monies paid on June 2.Staff of the CTD was unable to satisfy both parties’ requests and they were asked to “check back later”.Both parties involved have committed to supplying detailed written statements to the Town Clerk.The fraud was discovered just as the Commission of Inquiries was supposed to have wrapped up its investigation of the state of affairs at City Hall. Had the Commissioner presented his report, the investigation would have been over and the fraud might have gone undetected.Last night,Wholesale Jerseys China, Keith Burrowes, the Commissioner, said that the investigation would remain open for some time to come.He said that there is every indication of collusion between City Hall and the Deeds registry. Already, there is evidence that there are about another 20 instances of fraud and these are being investigated.Based on the municipality’s records the cashier for the $3.3 million transaction was Charlene Gittens. Findings are that the manual receipt issued on February 17, last, indeed came from a receipt book used by the municipality. However, this book, along with many others, was in a box, on the floor, in the accounts department open to all. And a source says these books were used primarily for instances when the taxpayer software system was “down” and that those in the box on the floor were used in 2008.Several receipt books were found in this box, including from volume 1612, where they were not completely utilized. However it was discovered that the unused receipts were not cancelled. The original for receipt # 097 from the said volume was missing, whilst the two supplementary duplicates were not, but were blank indicating that an authentic receipt of the municipality was issued to “M. Bacchus”This publication also understands that the original receipts for serial numbers 098 to 100 were also missing from this volume, and, like 097, its accompanying duplicates were still in the book and blank,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, creating suspicion that this was done to facilitate similar fraudulent activity.Only the amount of $220,000 was reflected in the Gittens cash receipt breakdown at the end of February 17,Wholesale NFL Jerseys Online, while the alleged payment of $3.35M,Wholesale Jerseys Cheap, for which the receipt was issued was not reflected in the cash receipts breakdown for Gittens or any other teller.All of the tellers total cash receipts for February 17 were confirmed and deposited at Republic Bank. However, Gittens’s total cash receipts as reflected on her report were $2.1M.Gittens in an unofficial comment has denied all knowledge of how this occurred.
