Woman charged with fraud after ACIB probe

A woman has been charged by an investigator from the Anti-Corruption Investigations Bureau (ACIB), with fraud and money laundering in a public assistance cheque scam. A TTPS release on October 7 said the woman was granted $75,000 bail by a Master of the High Court.

Elizabeth Christine Lochan appeared before Master Indira Chinebas on October 6. As a condition of bail, the accused must report to the Santa Cruz Police Station once a week between 6 am and 6 pm. The case was adjourned to March 3.

Following a report in March, from the Ministry of the People, Social Development and Family Services, an investigation was launched which revealed that in December 2022, a woman presented a fraudulent MSDFS Public Assistance cheque for the sum of $2,300 for encashment at a Port of Spain supermarket, in exchange for grocery items.

The cheque was later discovered to be fraudulent upon subsequent deposit at the Central Bank.

Investigations were co-ordinated by DCP (Intelligence and Investigations) Natasha George and ACP (White Collar Crimes Unit) Denis Knutt. It was spearheaded by Snr Supt Avinash Singh, Supt Theodore-Persad, supervised by Insp Deodath Seepersad, Insp Fabien Mohammed, Sgt Orthello, Cpl Pit, Cpl Pierre, WPC Philip and other officers of the ACIB.

Lochan was charged on October 1, by PC Dillon Modeste of the ACIB, under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The ACIB, was formed in 1997 as a sub-unit of the criminal investigations department (CID) and in 2019, under the then PNM administration, was handed over to the TTPS. In the recent gazetted announcement of a reshuffle of portfolios among some Cabinet members, it was also announced that the ACIB would now fall under the remit of the Office of the Attorney General.

The TTPS said it remains committed to protecting citizens and businesses from financial crimes and we will continue to aggressively pursue offenders who attempt to exploit public systems and vulnerable individuals through fraud and deception.

The public and businesses are urged to exercise extreme caution and employ rigorous verification procedures when dealing with cheques and other financial instruments to detect counterfeit documents.