Woman Sentenced for Keeping Nearly $48,000 Mistakenly Deposited Into Her Account

Belize Government Lotteries Limited has clarified that it had no involvement in the recent wrongful bank transfer that resulted in almost forty-eight thousand dollars being deposited into a Belize City woman’s account.  The transaction was reportedly initiated by Nando’s Wholesale Limited and was intended for a sub-agent associated with Lowe’s Supermarket in Ladyville. While the agreed facts presented in court identified Nando’s as a sales agent for the Belize Government Lottery, BGLL says it was not responsible for the erroneous transfer.

Thirty-four-year-old Kamera Kathleen Belisle has since pleaded guilty to dishonestly retaining a wrongful credit of forty-seven thousand, nine hundred and thirty-five dollars and forty-five cents.  According to the court record, an accountant attempted to send the payment in March 2024 using banking information obtained through a telephone number believed to belong to the intended recipient. It was later discovered that one digit in the telephone number was incorrect and that the account information supplied belonged to Belisle.  Investigators determined that a portion of the money was subsequently removed through bank transfers, ATM withdrawals and point-of-sale transactions before the remaining balance was frozen.  Belisle told investigators that she was pressured and intimidated by her brother, who reportedly controlled the telephone number involved, to receive and withdraw the funds for his and the family’s benefit.  She initially pleaded not guilty but changed her plea in June after receiving legal representation. Her attorney, Norman Rodriguez, spoke about the circumstances of the case and the court’s sentencing decision.

Nornan Rodriguez, Attorney: “The judge made her orders and the main gist of the sentence is that she was placed on probation after the court weighed her circumstances and the favorable presentation by the Community Rehabilitation Officers, all those who had an opportunity to provide information or the documents the court normally takes into consideration when it’s sentencing someone. She was placed on probation for two years and she has to do counseling. She has to report to an officer who will assign her duties which will help her to grow including in those orders are that she has to report to that officer and she also has to do some training in how to properly manage money. The money was transferred to her account by the virtual complainant and she as a poor person with lesser abilities just went ahead and shared some of the money with her family and an amount of was frozen by the FIU when the report was made and the charges were levied against her.”

Justice Candace Nanton placed Belisle on probation for two years instead of imposing an immediate prison term. She must report to the Community Rehabilitation Department and participate in programmes deemed appropriate, including financial-literacy training and financial counselling.  Belisle apologized to the court, saying she never intended to harm anyone and now considers the experience a life lesson. The court warned that a breach of her probation could result in her being returned for sentencing and facing up to two years’ imprisonment.  More than twenty thousand dollars remaining in the frozen account is expected to be returned to the complainant.