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Five Individuals Indicted in Virgin Islands Sewer Repair Fraud Case
Release Date: 06/26/2004
Contact Information:
Suzanne Ackerman 202-564-7819 / ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov
(06/26/04) On Feb. 20, Ashley Andrews, a Virgin Islands (VI) attorney; Ohanio Harris, former Special Assistant to the VI Governor; Alicia Hansen, former VI Senator and her husband Esdell Hansen; and Campbell Malone, a certified public accountant, were all indicted on charges that they conspired to violate federal and territorial laws. The alleged conspiracy included wire fraud, program fraud, bribery, fraudulent claims upon the Virgin Islands and violation of territorial conflict of interest statutes. The indictment alleges that the defendants created a company named Global Resources Management Inc., in order to bid on a contract to repair the St. Croix sewer system. The VI government has been under a consent decree to repair the system since 1984, because the system regularly discharged large quantities of raw sewage into St. Croix streets and into harbors in Christiansted and Frederiksted. The indictment alleges that the defendants illegally conspired to obtain a no-bid contract to conduct the repairs. Several defendants were also allegedly involved in bribery and conflict of interest, and others are accused of submitting fraudulent bills for work done in preparing a contract proposal. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s office in St. Thomas. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in a court of law.
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