Ex-Logic worker faces jail over $57k theft
(CNS): A former employee with local communications company Logic is facing a term of imprisonment after she was convicted of stealing more than $57,000 from her employers when she worked as an accounts clerk. Cavenna Ellis (35), who is married with three young children, appeared in Summary Court Wednesday, where the crown prosecutor submitted to the magistrate that her offence had reached the custody threshold. Ellis was said to have shown no remorse for her crimes and to have blamed her co-workers for the dishonesty.
The woman originally told police that she had stolen the money, which was taken over a one-month period in 2013, in 37 separate false transactions to help cover healthcare costs for her mother, who was being treated for cancer in Jamaica, but she later denied making the admissions.
Arguing for a suspended sentence, her lawyer said it was totally out of character for his client, who was a regular churchgoer and had received glowing references from people in the community. Previously of good character and with no dealings with the police, a social inquiry report also found she had a very low risk of re-offending.
The magistrate adjourned the case until Friday afternoon at 2pm, when she said she would deliver her decision, and although she bailed Ellis until that date, she warned that it did not mean she would not go to prison.
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Lying and stealing walk together. When she was an HR Manager, she lied to Immigration and NWDA on several occasions by securing the job openings for other nationalities and while claiming that Caymanians are not applying for the jobs and that they are unqualified whilst throwing resumes in the trash and deleting emails. “Careful our sins shall find us out.”
Has her church offered to give back the portion she tithed to them?
I’m sure they will, as they would not want to have stolen money. Right? Oops, I forgot. Nation Building changed all that.
Here we go again…the good church-going Christian excuse. Pfffftt.
I would be disappointed if we kept sending the message that having difficult circumstances is a license to steal. There are always ways and means through difficult situations other than stealing.
I am not condoning this for one second because stealing is stealing, no matter what the circumstances. However, there seems to be an increase in this type of crime – people stealing just to keep food on the table, a roof above their heads etc – maybe it is time for the Fat Walleted MLAs in government to start properly looking at the cost of living in these Islands as it is escalating at such a rate that even a decent monthly wage isn’t enough to keep food on the table, pay bills etc. ANd something needs to be done about it ASAP.
It would be interesting to learn when the last time an MLA actually went to do their weekly supermarket shop and see what it came to.
Sorry, but if you can’t meet your obligations, get a second job. Many people have done this rather than steal. When has it become an acceptable alternative to steal?
2:09pm, acceptable to her, because she wants to live the high life that she wasn’t use to in her native country. When they come to the Cayman Islands they get feathers and try to soar high. She should have to serve the time and repay all of what she stole.
Read the article. It has nothing to do with the cost of living Cayman!
Penny you could have asked few more questions in the last paragraph , like when was the last time they payed their ulity bill , water and mortgage payment . But I agree that they need to look at the cost of living for ordinary people .
Pathetic apologist for the lazy and the dishonest.
Yet they are allowing statutory authorities to continue to pay outrageous salaries. Pensioners cannot eat properly but these people living high.
I entirely agree she will have a very low risk of re- offending, it’s not easy to steal in jail as no-one has any money in there.
Setting a wonderful example for her kids. Blame your co-workers. Do not accept responsibility. Go to church and you’ll get ” glowing ” references from people who don’t really know you’re a fraud and thief.
Another one here for us? yes all you Cayman haters don’t here a peep out of you? thou shalt not thief people tings not in some people bible because every day i am hustling is not considered theft i guess?
Not to jump on the anti-Caymanian side but what does this have to do with anti-Caymanians saying anything? Because her mother was being treated for cancer in Jamaica? I’m Caymanian as is my parents and my dad was treated for cancer in Jamaica. That doesn’t mean anything.
What a bad example she is to her children and society, that you can also steal in the private sector . I hope that everyone see what has happened to her and how much time she will spend behind bars without alcohol .
What the…? What are you sayin?
WTF are you saying?
Spell check Alesandro works a charm.
Ummm…I do not understand what you are saying 5:59
How could this happen in the private sector.
LOL I just spat out my coffee
The coffee for which the private sector is paying no doubt. Now we will have to fund your new laptop as well.
Not today bo bo, self employed, coffee and laptop self funded.
Permit?
No, no permit. Does that annoy you? Does it? I hope it does.
Take that 8:26am know it all. Feel the burn
crooks every where public and private sector.
“who was a regular churchgoer..”
Does this mean that regular churchgoers don’t steal or if they do steal, because they go to church regularly they should be forgiven and receive no consequence for their actions?
If she had a relationship with God and read her Bible regularly instead of just being a regular churchgoer, she would have known “thou shalt not steal” and she would have had faith that God would have provided and not by her stealing!
Everyone always has a sad story to tell. The lady the other day did it to feed her kids, now this one had a sick mother.
If she is not given jail time, the message being sent is “if your story is heartbreaking enough, it is ok to steal”.
She later denied saying she stole the money for her sick mother…guess it was just greed?
Are heads going to roll because of this. After all that is what we would be saying if this happened in the civil service. Zzzzzzzzzzz
Nah, they’re just letting us know what happened. She maybe fired but will have another job soon because she is a regular churchgoer after all and is the model of upstanding morals.
Good done 7.41 , judging by comments on other cases then the entire board should resign right ?
Want some cheese with that whine? So she is a private sector employee, wow. Are Heads going to roll – she got reported to the police, prosecuted and will probably go to jail. What else do you expect? At least she wasn’t put on required leave at taxpayers expense for years pending trial. And she stole her employers money, not the public’s.
From all the comments on this site I thought this only happened in the public service. How could this happened in the private sector?
Did she steal the money at one time? Surely the private sector has controls in place to stop this from happening over a period of time. Yeah right!
The civil service improves the private sector is struggling to keep up.
37 incidents
In one month.
What are you talking about? There have been plenty of embezzlers in the private sector. I can quickly think of 5 off the top of my head. Where have you been?
No one is immune.
Another one has ruined her life and career through stupidity and greed and teaching her children the wrong thing . I hope that the children learn something when they don’t have mama home every day and night for a few years .
A bit harsh? The children will be devastated by the experience. More lives ruined. And what crime did they commit?
Pathetic. Women use kids as an excuse for sentencing all the time. What “ruined” their lives was the fact their mother is a dishonest criminal.
Cry me a river, its called skimming. Tell now, she didn’t think of the consequences while doing it? Another crooked hipochristian!
Don’t bother drag the church into this. If she was having financial difficulties she should have told the church and they probably would have assisted her. At least that is what my church would have done. the Bible plainly states ” thou shalt not steal” she should have known better.
Dem a one Christian, 6 days a week doing all kinda wrong, Sunday come dress up in a white, bible in dem hand. O’Lord, dem a one day Christian.
That’s why we have so much theft now, these lawyers and Judges encouraging it.
It’s good for the judicial system to show leniency but yes, lately too many people are getting slaps on the wrists. She did wrong, she should be punished accordingly.
Is she deportable?