By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
A 44-year-old woman who stole more than $26,000 from her employer over a three-year period was ordered to reimburse the stolen funds and pay a $5,000 fine to avoid spending a year behind bars.
Magistrate Kendra Kelly handed down her ruling to Anishka Whyms, a former employee of Radiation Therapy Services, after she pleaded guilty to stealing and laundering $26,260.22 sometime between April 2016 and December 2019.
Prosecution Vernon Pyfrom told the court that on January 3, 2020, a woman reported to police that she had received information about potential theft at the company.
As a result, an internal audit was conducted and revealed several suspicious activities involving numerous charges with no receipts to verify the payments.
The prosecution said this prompted company executives to request customers to come in and bring their receipts as part of their investigations.
However, while investigating, the court was told that officials found several irregularities with the receipts and was later informed by customers that Whyms was one of two staff members from whom they had received the receipts.
Consequently, Whyms was called into a meeting with company officials where she admitted to the offence and was later arrested.
In mitigation, Whyms' attorney, Ramona Farquharson-Seymour, asked the court for leniency, saying her client, a mother of two and “devoted” wife, was remorseful for her actions and vowed to never steal again.
She further noted that Whyms, who was unemployed, had no previous convictions and did not want to be convicted as it could affect her chances to find employment.
Mrs Farquharson-Seymour also conceded that her client wanted to make amends for her behaviour and was in the position to repay the company the stolen funds.
When asked by Magistrate Kelly what led her to steal, Whyms told the court she became desperate after falling on hard times and being unable to make ends meet after she and her husband’s split.
In response, Magistrate Kelly reprimanded Whyms, saying her actions were “unacceptable” as she broke her employer’s trust.
Before delivering her ruling, the magistrate said while she commended Whyms for admitting to her wrongdoing, she could not overlook the nature of the charges and the three-year timeframe in which she committed the offence.
As a result, Whyms was ordered to repay the $26,260.22 she stole from Radiation Therapy Services and also fined $5,000.
She was told that failure to pay the fine would result in a one-year prison sentence.
Also appearing before Magistrate Kelly on similar charges Friday was 41-year-old Indira Cleare, another former employee at Radiation Therapy Services.
Cleare is accused of falsifying numerous customer accounts through omission, stealing some $20,020.24 between May 2018 and January 2020 and also laundering that amount between those dates.
During her appearance before Magistrate Kelly, the accused denied 16 counts of falsification of accounts, eight counts of stealing by reason of employment and one count of money laundering.
Cleare was subsequently granted $9,500 bail with one or two sureties and also ordered to report to the East Street South police station on Mondays before 6pm.
She is scheduled to return to court January 26 for trial.
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