Ex-salesman fined for embezzlement

A former clerk for Hand Arnold Distributors appeared before a Port of Spain magistrate on Wednesday to be sentenced after he pleaded guilty to three counts of embezzlement and two counts of falsifying official company documents on Monday.

Denzil McMeo, 24, appeared before magistrate Marissa Gomez in the Port of Spain Magistrates’ First Court. His attorney Shalini Sankar urged the court to show leniency as he pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and expressed sincere remorse and his intention to repay the money he took.

McMeo pleaded guilty to taking a total of $59,000 from clients between May and July, but not conveying the cash to the company’s cashiers as expected and falsifying receipts declaring the payments to be cancelled.

Sankar said on Monday McMeo, at the time of the crime, was under “severe stress,” as he had to contribute to his wedding and was struggling to pay for the damage to his car caused by an accident.

McMeo was fined $9,000 for each of the five charges, which he is expected to pay within a month or face imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay back the $59,000.

In her sentencing, Gomez said she considered the prevalence of the offence and his early guilty plea and said that given these factors, a custodial sentence would not be appropriate.

“It is going to be tough for you going forward but there are ways you can continue to live your life. A simple heart-to-heart with your fiancee could have avoided all of this.”

Gomez also urged McMeo to be a better example to his four-year-old daughter.