WCB man to serve 5 years for embezzlement, flour theft

A West Coast Berbice (WCB) man convicted of embezzling more than $3 million and stealing flour valued at over $10 million from his employer has been sentenced to five years imprisonment after a High Court judge found that he had abused a position of trust for personal gain. Hemraj Singh Pahalad of Number 11 Village, WCB was on Friday sentenced by Justice Deborah Kumar-Chetty at the Berbice High Court who imposed two years and seven months’ imprisonment for the embezzlement charge and five years for larceny. The sentences are to run concurrently and will see Pahalad only serving five years. In handing down the sentence, Justice Kumar-Chetty highlighted the serious breach of trust involved in the offences. The court heard that Pahalad had been entrusted with access to his employer’s flour bond, cash, and cheques and was even a signatory on a joint bank account linked to the business. The judge noted that the convicted man had abused that trust and used his position for personal benefit. She further observed that despite having opportunities to make restitution, he failed to repay the money and goods that were taken. The court also considered a victim impact statement presented on behalf of businessman Ramdial Ramoutar. According to the report, the losses had a significant effect on the complainant and his family, with relatives living overseas reportedly having to provide financial assistance to help offset the losses suffered by the business. A probation report was also presented before the court as part of the sentencing process.
In mitigation, the court took into account that Pahalad had no previous convictions. Justice Kumar-Chetty also considered the lengthy delay in the matter reaching completion, noting that approximately 13 years had elapsed since the offences were committed. The judge reduced the sentence in recognition of that delay. Pahalad was convicted by a jury earlier this month of one count of embezzlement involving $3,071,500 and one count of larceny involving flour valued at $10,127,995. He was found not guilty on a second embezzlement charge. The offences stemmed from his employment with Ramoutar’s business, where he was entrusted with handling company funds and inventory. Evidence presented during the trial showed that he had access to company finances and stock and was responsible for making deposits on behalf of the business.
Following the guilty verdicts, Justice Kumar-Chetty deferred sentencing and ordered the preparation of both a probation report and a victim impact report before imposing sentence. With Friday’s ruling, the long-running case, which spanned more than a decade, has now come to a close.