A former employee of the Children’s Life Fund charged with 13 offences of larceny has been granted $100,000 bail.
Krisas Sookraj, 43, of School Street, Carenage, appeared before Magistrate Ava Vandenberg-Bailey at the Tunapuna Magistrates Court on Monday.
Sookraj, who was arrested at her home on December 5, was charged with 13 offences of fraud against the Children’s Life Fund amounting to US$15,640. The charges were laid by Sgt Damian Thomas of the Fraud Squad on December 7.
The incidents are alleged to have occurred in July 2015 while Sookraj was employed as an executive assistant at the organisation. She was employed in August 2011 and fired in September 2014.
It is alleged that the sums of money had been approved by the Board and was supposed to be issued as payment to 13 children between the ages of three to six years who were suffering from life-threatening diseases.
Following an investigation, led by Snr Supt Totaram Dookhie, a team of hand-picked officers including Sgt Cornelius Samuel, Sgt Damien Thomas, Sgt Hemat Kissoon and acting Cpl April-Ann Adams, unearthed documents which were crucial to the investigation into the misappropriation of State funds.
Last week, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard gave instructions for Sookraj to be charged. She appeared before a Port-of-Spain Magistrate last Friday and was remanded into custody until yesterday. She is expected to reappear in court on January 7, 2019.
The Children’s Life Fund was established in 2010 to provide funding for children with life-threatening conditions. More than 235 children have already received assistance since its inception.