Pastor, Court employee charged with fraud

FRAUD Squad detectives yesterday charged a pastor and a female employee of the Judiciary/Magistracy with uttering a dishonoured cheque and larceny of $1,000 respectively, police sources told Newsday.

The information relating to both charges were laid yesterday in the Couva and Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court by the Fraud Squad. The pastor, who recently proposed a Crime Plan for the nation and was very talkative and outspoken during a recent kidnapping incident, is due to appear before a Port-of-Spain Magistrate on November 19, while the 33-year-old court employee is listed to appear before a Couva Magistrate on September 12. Both were charged by way of summons because of their positions in society, police sources said.

In the case of the pastor, police said in January of this year a Port-of-Spain company did work for him amounting to over $300,000. Police sources said in March of this year, the Pastor made a part payment in the sum of $52,758. The Royal Bank, Indepen-dence Square cheque was drawn on the account of the Pastor’s church. However, it was returned dishonoured. A report was made late last month and  investigations, spearheaded by Sr Supt Wellington Virgil, were carried out by Cpl Loderick Marcelle. The Pastor was questioned yesterday. In the other matter involving the court official, the charge states that the woman being a Clerk of Servant, employed with the Jud-iciary/Magistracy of Trinidad and Tobago, stole the sum of $1,000 in cash received by virtue of her employment. Police sources said the incident occurred on June 25, 2002. The discovery was made while an accounting assistant was doing a daily routine check. The accounting assistant is reported to have noticed a voucher reflecting that there was a $1,450 payment to a person who was supposed to collect a maintenance sum of $450.