‘Fake’ Permanent Secretary pleads guilty

A Chauncey woman who impersonated the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Mobilisation Jasmine Hull to dishonestly obtain items from a supermarket in Kingstown has been ordered by the court to pay compensation for the goods.{{more}}

Chauncey resident Mary Allen appeared at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining the quantity of goods from Monica’s Cash and Carry supermarket.

Magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias ordered Allen to pay compensation of $203 or go to prison for two months.

According to the facts presented in court, proprietor of the supermarket, Monica Ross has an understanding with the Ministry of National Mobilization that less fortunate persons, through the Ministry can credit items from her business place.

The court heard that on February 22, Ross received a telephone call from someone, who stated her name as Jasmine Hull, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Mobilization.

The person said she would send Mary Allen to her (Ross) to collect the food items.

Allen then went to collect the items in person, and was supposed to return to the store to sign a purchase order.

She never did.

Ross then went to the Ministry and spoke with the Permanent Secretary, who indicated that she never sent anyone to her business place.

A report was then filed with the police and investigations led to Allen’s arrest.

When police arrested Allen, she told them that she did the act because of the condition in which she was living and that she was poor.

In court, the magistrate asked Allen why didn’t she go to Ross and ask for the items.

Allen said she should have done that and apologized for her actions.

Just last week, a similar matter of deception was brought before the court.

On February 4, 2014, Rockies resident Sean Chewitt presented himself as a man named John Bynoe and contacted Harmony Investments Ltd and requested 50 pounds of codfish and 10 cases of Turbo juice drink to be delivered to his business place in Bequia, called Bynoe’s Mini-Mart.

However, following investigations, it was discovered that there was no one by the name of John Bynoe who operated a mini-mart in Bequia called Bynoe’s.

For his act, Chewitt was sentenced to six months imprisonment.