Jamaican Woman Charged Over Alleged J$3.5 Million Workplace Theft

Jamaica: A 52-year-old woman has been arrested and charged by the Constant Spring Police in connection with the alleged theft of J$3.5 million from her workplace. She is expected to appear before the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Thursday, June 18.

The female has been identified as Mischel Howard, assistant manager from Stony Hill, St Andrew, who is facing charges of one count of stealing $3.5 million from her job and one count of failure to pay money back.

According to police reports, the incident came into light when the owner of the St Andrew business establishment noticed multiple irregularities and discrepancies across the company's financial accounts following which the owner conducted an internal audit.

After conducting an internal audit and full examination of the accounts, the owner noticed that it was done by one of the female employees, Howard. The owner then confronted the female with the evidence, following which she confessed the fraud. She admitted to the employers of misappropriating approximately J$3.5 million from the business.

Following her admission, the business owner attempted to establish an amicable repayment schedule to recover the stolen funds instead of contacting the officers or involving law enforcement.

But the woman reportedly refused to honor the agreement or return the money, which made the owner angry and to involve law enforcement. The employer then contacted the officers and reported the fraud with evidence.

The officers then immediately took action and arrested Howard and took her in police custody, where she was formally charged after a question-and-answer session conducted in the presence of her defense attorney.

Authorities further scheduled her date of arraignment as she is set to appear in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Thursday, June 18.