Welfare officer charged with fraud and money laundering

A welfare officer appeared before the High Court on Monday where she was granted bail in the sum of $250,000, with surety.

Deborah Griffith was arrested and charged with 18 counts of obtaining monies by false pretences, 18 counts of money laundering, and 17 counts of uttering a false document.

Griffith was ordered to surrender her passport to the registrar of the Supreme Court by November 28, and was also ordered to report to the police station twice per month. The matter has been adjourned to March 11, 2025.

Investigations revealed that Griffith allegedly obtained a loan of $146,530.44 to purchase a vehicle. However, she failed to acquire the vehicle and used the funds for unrelated purposes.

According to a release from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS), inquiries uncovered that between March 2014 and July 2015, Griffith submitted multiple fraudulent travel claims, pretending to have purchased and owned a vehicle to receive travelling benefits. The claims amounted to $36,611.30.

In the statement, the Fraud Squad reiterated that altering information to gain financial or other benefits is a serious criminal offence. Such actions can result in criminal liability and prosecution.

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