By the TODAY Newspaper
GREAT BAY – The Court in First Instance sentenced a man who stole money from his employer twice to a 15-month conditional prison sentence yesterday. Yves Antoine Haddocks, 37, does not have to go to jail, because this would interfere with his efforts to pay back the stolen money to his now former employer, Xtreme Communications NV, the authorized wholesaler of call credit for telecom provider UTS and its Chippie brand.
According to court documents, Haddocks stole between $250,000 and $300,000 from his employer between March 2012 and March 2013. He is currently paying back $2,000 per month, a process that could take him between 125 and 150 months (10 to 12.5 years) to get even.
At the trial on March 30, the prosecution demanded a 15-month prison sentence, with 5 months suspended and 3 years of probation. The court made the sentence wholly conditional because it is not in the interest of his former employer.
Haddocks collected money from retailer for call credit. The retailers have the option to make a bank transfer, to deposit what they owe physically in the Xtreme bank account or to make cash or check payments to the Xtreme sales representative.
In Haddock’s case, 85 percent of retailers paid cash. While Haddocks did submit deposit slips to his employer, he hardly ever deposited money in the bank as he was supposed to do.
While Haddocks started stealing in March 2012, it took until October of that year before his employer noticed a serious dip in his cash flow. The fraud came to light after the company investigated the matter further with its own administration and with the bank.
In 2005 Haddocks also embezzled money from the company, but his employer gave him a second chance. No charges were pressed that time, because Haddocks repaid what he had stolen.
