A former Cayman Turtle Centre employee, Rachel Ann Naomi Ebanks, who is accused of stealing more than $300,000, has asked that charges be transferred to the Grand Court.
Ebanks has been charged with two counts of theft and one count of false accounting. The charges stem from allegations that Ebanks, between 1 Aug., 2014 and 18 June 2018, stole US$288,203.54 and CI$82,299.78 from the Turtle Centre.
“You are also alleged to have dishonestly and with a view to gain for herself or others or with intent to cause loss to another, concealed and falsified Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre Ltd records and documents for accounting purposes,” read Chief Magistrate Valdis Foldats as he presented the charges to Ebanks.
The nature of the charges that Ebanks faces can be dealt with either in Summary Court or in Grand Court, where she can be tried by a jury of her peers, should she plead not guilty to the charges. Although Ebanks chose to have the charges sent to the Grand Court, she did not enter any pleas.
According to court files, the alleged theft is said to have come to light when KPMG auditors noticed bank statements did not correspond with the Turtle Centre’s ledgers.
When Ebanks was initially questioned about the irregularities, according to court documents, she said she noticed that $60,000 was missing from the company accounts, and suspected that the money was misappropriated by a former employee.
However, she said she did not call attention to the missing funds because she was afraid that she would have been blamed. Instead, she took out a loan for $60,000 to replace the missing money.
Court documents said Ebanks’ comments sparked an internal investigation which later discovered an additional $240,000 in missing funds.
She was released on bail and will be appearing before the Grand Court in the coming weeks, at which time she is expected to enter a plea.
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