Data exposé uncovers tourism stipend fraud
(CNS): An embarrassing error for the Ministry of Labour last month, when around 3,000 names and email addresses of tourism stipend recipients were accidentally made public by staff at the ministry for border control, exposed a number of fraudulent claims, Labour Minister Chris Saunders has said. The data breach will lead to several people being prosecuted after “widespread and disturbing allegations of fraud” raised major concerns, he added.
“While I was very unhappy with the clerical error that led to the inadvertent data breach, since then we have had several reports of allegations of fraud made against recipients of the stipend, which is a matter of serious concern,” Saunders said and revealed that some fraudulent claimants had been exposed by their own family members.
“While I am sure that the vast number of recipients truly require assistance, unfortunately, there are members of our society that are hellbent on getting money for doing nothing. That mindset is un-Caymanian. The fact that some of the people who reported suspected fraud offences are family members confirms that we still live in a society where people value decency and honesty,” the minister said.
“Individuals that seek to defraud the government are essentially stealing public funds which could be put to better use assisting those who are truly vulnerable and in need of help,” Saunders added. He said that his ministerial team had worked hard to identify cases of suspected fraud, which have now been referred to the RCIPS Financial Crimes Investigation Unit with the intention of prosecution.
From the get-go, the payments had been based on an honour system and few checks were made. The criteria required that applicants provide sworn declarations regarding their employment and financial status.
A self-reporting survey was conducted by the Ministry of Labour in January of this year after it took over responsibility for the disbursement of the stipend payments from the tourism ministry. That survey relied on recipients’ honesty in listing their updated employment status, with a goal of removing those who had gained full-time employment since the gradual reopening of the tourism industry.
In that survey, over 600 people said they were back in full-time employment and were moved to a reduced payment schedule and transitioned off the the stipend. But the majority of recipients remained on the list at full payment. Saunders said that since then, some people had also come forward and returned payments they received in error or after they went back to work.
“We are grateful to those who chose to be honest and who have been keen on doing their part to ensure that monies were prioritized for those still in need,” the minister added, but said that not everyone was so honest.
“We also discovered that there were four persons incarcerated at HMPS Northward that were being paid the stipend, at least one of whom was already in prison when the stipend was instituted,” he said. “One has since been released, but the others are currently in prison and were receiving monthly payments up to March 2022.”
Saunders pointed out that the payments were an emergency measure introduced during the lockdown by the former administration. He said he supported the decision to provide much-needed assistance to thousands of families that were financially impacted by the global pandemic overnight.
“This was the right thing to do then, it is the right thing to do now, and we shouldn’t let those who seek to exploit the scheme for financial gain detract from the goodness of this programme, as a lot of our people still require assistance. Many of our people did the right thing by reporting cases of suspected fraud, and their courage and decency now requires us to act. We cannot afford to sweep this under the rug,” he said.
Funds for the tourism stipend programme have been approved until June but anyone who is still receiving the money who no longer meets the criteria for a legitimate claim is urged to voluntarily remove themselves from the recipient list. Another mandatory survey has now been launched for all recipients of the stipend, which they must complete in order to get paid next month.
For further information, or to report suspicions of fraudulent activities relating to the payment of the stipend, email stipend@gov.ky or call 649-6932.
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Rumour is the leak was intentional to expose abusers in which case it would seem to be only competent thing PACT has done related to stipend.
Sunlight is a good disinfectant.
Doubt it…that would require basic intelligence
When this first was discussed Saunders said they wouldn’t bother to prosecute… makes you wonder why he was so quick to say people would get a free pass.
https://caymannewsservice.com/2022/02/ppm-calls-for-case-by-case-assessment-on-stipend/
“There have been concerns that some people have been receiving the stipend while working full time on a full income but the fraud has not been widespread and Labour Minister Chris Saunders has said there are no plans to prosecute people who have dishonestly drawn the stipend.”
Either their are friends and fam of PACT on list of abusers or they are totally incompetent with our public money.
Since when did ministers decide who gets prosecuted. Oh yeah right.
Thought this guy said they weren’t seeking to prosecute those that maybe abusing the stipend at an earlier time. Now, they got caught with their pants down and forced to investigate. That what happens when you stick your head in the sand like an ostrich. The people that really need assistance suffer, while greedy criminals ride the back of government. Tsk tsk
Cool. Can businesses which aren’t paying pension under the guise of being impacted by the pandemic be investigated as well?
Agree some business encouraging Caymanians to be on stipend while retaining work permit holders. World Class civil service asleep at the wheel again.
That’s too close to home 9.30 if you look at the offender’s political connections.
I note that most commenters are attacking the civil servants who under the PPM administration were required to just process the information submitted as there were NO ELIGIBILITY requirements put in place in 2020 …
but not cussing their own who submitted the fraudulent claims … #Caymanlogic … #confused
That is true. PPM started this mess. Now PACT is facing the detrimental consequences.
don’t even go there, PACt had 1 whole year to fix this, please bear in mind the previous government put the stipend in place under very rushed and high-pressure circumstances, and making the application process extremely difficult would only have resulted in fewer people getting urgent help. PACt has now had a year to clean up, but now we see all the theatrics including the “leak”, instead of just cutting some people off the damn list and moving on.
The Civil Service paid our money to people who did not even come close to qualifying. That is why they are being ridiculed. We are entitled to expect reasonable protections against the misuse of our funds. The Civil Service failed us. It continues to. I am yet to hear of a single arrest. The evidence of widespread fraud is clear.
World Class.
CNS, is it possible to add a laughing face to the emotion meter at the end of this article? I want to press that button so badly right now! 😆🤣😂🥹🥲
Maybe the banks should start loaning money on an honor system. LOL. you can’t make this stuff up! How the hell would an honor system work when it comes to giving out money? I would be grateful if someone would enlighten me.
This truly is Mickey Mouse Land – and time to replace the pineapple on our Coat of Arms with crossed bananas…….Heaven help us.
No the pineapple is on point. It represents the link to Jamaica where corruption and incompetence rules the day.
Why did I know that one of you lot would bring up Jamaica or even blame Jamaica on everyting!??? LMFAO
Corruption in Cayman is above par with other countries that are much larger than this small spit of sand. We can compete with corruption with much larger places. But who wants those bragging rights????
1:49pm let me bring to your attention the percentage of our homegrown compared to any other nationality that now reside at our prison.
But on you go with your shite blaming. Typical.
Mickey mouse wears a Cayman Islands wrist watch…
Another f*ck up on a monumental list of f*ck ups. Honestly, the people in charge need help, they just don’t know what they’re doing. Frankly its amazing some of this lot can chew gum and walk at the same time.
Franz Manderson and his world class civil service need to go. He has failed as a leader.
How many more embarrassing chapters can this country afford?
What process have they been using since 2020?
Does anything work in the service?
Nobody employed understands appears to understand project management and risk analysis at the top of the civil service?
surely time for a period of direct rule.
everyday we have clear evidence and proof that caymanians are not capable of handling their own affairs.
Hate to say it but, if CIG doesn’t comply with the rule of law, that could be an unfortunate consequence.
Sure, because Boris Johnson and his cronies know how to apply the rule of law fairly and efficiently.
At least Boris and Rishi got fined for breaking mask wearing rules – Cayman cabinet ministers, not so much.
That’s actually a good example contrary to your point. They were caught, charged and fined just like anyone else. No special deals for MPs and their voters.
any comment mr governor???
😁
Hell no, cockroaches and roosters remember! Plus he loves his crib and conch fritters so no boat rocking here bobo
Huh? He has to fix this mess too? Devolved issue, remember? There is elected Government for that.
Not so easy. Remember, responsibility for good governance and all that crap?
He did it already once. A lot of you are still crying over it. And JR was put in place, though unsuccessful. You really expect the Governor act on every occasion? Why not implement direct rule then?
time for a class action lawsuit against the gross incompetence of cig and the civil service.
and this is the man incharge of cayman’s finances????…..scary times ahead.
why is saunders surpised when the dogs in the street knew this was happening since the scheme first started…
Pretending to be surprised. Get your head in the game man.
This scheme has been nothing but corruption from the beginning. Politicians buying votes trying to hold on to their seats. They should start with investigating MPs who added members of their constituency who are ineligible, also how many local boat operators did the same, adding individuals who worked for them once in a blue moon, who were not employees, or worked in the tourism industry, there is a lot of corruption, but the real corruption will never be investigated.
ag….audit this nonsense asap.
and more importantly start an audit on the performance of the civil service during lockdown.
This disclosure appears to have been contrary to the Data Protection Act (by failing to preserve “personal data” of individuals) as well as privacy rights (protected under s.9, BoR; art.8, ECHR).
On the other hand, if fraud has been uncovered (or what appears to be fraud), then this needs to be investigated, because fraud on the public purse is very serious.
Overall, two wrongs don’t make a right and, if there were contraventions of the law, all guilty parties need to face consequences. Upholding the rule of law is (or should be) non-discriminatory.
Thanks Captain Obvious, who knew.
If it takes a data breach (boo hoo) to expose fraud and incompetence then that’s fine by me.
It happens all over, but that doesn’t make it right. US is uncovering fraudulent recipients of Trump’s federal stimulus program, with more to come, except that effectively was citizens’ taxes mailed back to them.
Human nature is to try to get something for free, especially when it is perceived as “valid”. Shysters naturally will take special advantage.
Follow the bread crumbs…
The stipend was recently taken away from Kenneth
Suddenly there is a data leak
Chris then announced that based on the leak there are ongoing investigations
Government had access to the data all along
I bet you my last dollar the leak was a deliberate move to investigate voters with the excuse, “I wouldn’t have done it but your name came up on the leaked list and my hands were tied”.
Obviously, Kenneth’s ministry knew about this and did nothing, question is why?
It was taken away and now Chris needs an excuse to do his job.
Read between the lines folks, its not Calculus.
Kenny already knew there were prisoners recu stipend – remember his defence of that, saying that they would still be unemployed when they left prison and had mouths to feed. Didn’t touch on the fact that some of them were already in prison when the stipend started lol.
Franz. Please explain.
Franz is the root problem in the civil service. Time for him to retire or get fired
Is anyone truly honestly wholeheartedly surprised at all?
Offer charity and some will take you to the cleaners, wow unbelievable.
As a Caymanian I wish we would stop beating around the bush with our words. We caymanians have perspective issues. We are too egotistical, we play the victimhood card all the time and we are absolutely lazy. Not all but as a general rule.
Until we admit our faults we will always be whispered about behind our backs.
Un-Caymanian is not wearing a mask in a hospital.
Maybe the hike that’s coming from the Water Authority (a Govt entity) with a $5M profit last year is to find money for stipends?
Can’t be blaming expats here! Caymanians stealing from their own and getting caught with their hands in the cookie jar!
Is stolen evidence admissible?
The list isn’t evidence, more the smoking gun for Police to identify and investigate who’s been stealing from the cookie jar
But they won’t do shit. They almost never do. Even when the evidence is in writing and scattered about their feet. What has been revealed has been suspected for months. No action by the police, was there? Why not?
Not stolen. CS’s clerical error. Evidence is admissible, albeit not without legal consequences for CIG’s breach in disclosing.
Gasboy II.
II at least!
With the same outcome no doubt.
Just Another Day in Absurdistan
What about the men that never went to sea working on ships and some only went for a few months that getting the Seamen benefits of money and medical, aint that stealiig too. That was to be for true seamen that built this country by sending home their wages when it was nothing else here.
Hey Chris, that mindset maybe un-Caymanian as you say but it is trending.
Given that the stipend was reserved for Caymanians, it’s a mindset held by some Caymanians at least.
Brilliant 👏🏼. You couldn’t make this nonsense up. World class my a$$.
“That mindset is un-Caymanian.”
I dunno bowt you but mine ancesters was pirates.
There is no point in having an honour system for anything because only the honourable people will follow the rules.
The dishonorable never do and they always gain at everyone else’s expense
But the politicians are Honorable and lead by example
Hand clean and hearts pure.
Crabs will be crabs
I know a few of them. they absolutely don’t need it.
If there are only “several” dodgy claims in there I’ll eat my mouldy old pile of decrepit sun beds.
You work by Public Beach?
What did they expect given that no checks were performed and the green tie brigade were encouraging people to sign up to take money from Govt.
As long as they are wearing their masks, they should continue to receive the stipend.
BLAH,BLAH, BLAH.
This situation shows that clearly little or no due diligence was done from the get go. Pure incompetence to say the least.
Actions are only taken when whistle blowers make issues public and the government has no other choice but to be seen to be doing ‘something’ about the issues.
It would be good to hear from a Lawyer perspective how this case will go. As the govt breach data protection and then will be prosecuting some people based on perhaps outside
Inaddition, how did the government allow so many fraudulent application. Was no field work done to verify apolications?
Wonder what Attorney General’s views are.
To your first point, its likely a breach of GDPR and probably has already been reported to the ombudsman.
To your latter point, you new here bobo? Of course.
Of course no field work was done. The majority of fraudulent claims will stem from persons closely linked to or involved in government or civil service. Will be interesting to see how many prosecutions make it to court. I’ll open the betting at less than a handful.
With a civil service staff that can cater to a population of 250,000, why weren’t any checks made?
Corruption or ineptitude. Possibly even both. Personally I fear it is ineptitude tainted by corruption, but it could be corruption tainted by ineptitude. It is a shitshow. At almost every level.
WORC was too busy denying permits to business trying to legitimately get the country back up and running!
Put more effort into finding, training and paying Caymanians and you won’t have to worry about WORC and getting work permits.
Yeah, because with those recent stellar exam results there are going to be so many adequately qualified Caymanians in the marketplace.
They weren’t allowed to. Caymanian and worked in the Tourism industry. Please don’t blame the civil servants. They were doing what they were told to do by the Minsters. This was both PACT and PPM. Go back and read the news if you all have such short memories.
Huh. I would have thought that the Ministry would have told recipients to delete and not process the data from the breach. Raises interesting legal concerns about the use of this information.
How many non Caymanians are on the list. WORC/CBC where are you?
Here we go again. How can a non Caymanian receive the stipend unless they are PR or status holder? Stop pointing fingers.
Ummm, a PR holder is not a Caymanian. There are expats on the list.
Non Caymanian status holder? No such thing. A Status holder is Caymanian. The law doesn’t distinguish Caymanian, multi generational Caymanian, born Caymanian or “Status holder”. A Caymanian is a Caymanian.
Yes. And a PR holder is not a Caymanian. And many other classes of people are not Caymanian. And they are on the list.
How many criminal Caymanians on the list? Depends on your perspective.
If he tries to prosecute me, I’ll just sue him for the data breach.
Not sure its a data breach when you are committing fraud and it exposes you but hey ho, what do we know or will be done about it?
So speaks the person who enjoys living here and runs down our country at every opportunity. Enjoy our hospitality….. but if you indeed abused the emergency assistance offered to the intended recipients, no sympathy from me. Crook
Laws are laws, you don’t get to pick and choose which ones to enforce.
In Cayman that’s the norm Bobo; you must be new to our shores 7:59? Cherry Picking is one of our National Sports.
25/4 at3:55pm.
If you have the funds to sue Government, then you do not need the stipend. Pathetic, unscrupulous, unethical.
That was a brave whistleblowing event.
Got the “righteous” government backpedalling.
Whoever leaked that, Thank you!
I wondered if the breach was deliberate? But that leads to another question, who checked the applications in the first place?
Ha ha ha…what about the big developers and their concessions.? Oh..sorry…they got approval to do so from….zzzzzz
So basically the Minster is saying that he, like Minister Bryan before him, signed off on giving a tourism stipend to 3,000 people without asking the most mundane of questions like Who are you? Where are you? Why do you need this money? etc.
“While I am sure that the vast number of recipients truly require assistance, unfortunately, there are members of our society that are hellbent on getting money for doing nothing. That mindset is un-Caymanian.”
What’s being Caymanian got to do with it…..? it is simply human nature that some people will always try and cheat the system, and get something for nothing if it is offered to them on a plate!
He is trying to say it’s below Caymanians to do such a thing, isn’t he? Well guess what, it’s not. Sounds actually xenophobic.
Sure sounds Caymanian, given that all the recipients are.
How can a prisoner receive a stipend? Are you really that dumb?
They have a bank account. CIG pays the stipend to that account. Simple really. Of course the question is not how do they receive the money – it’s why.
Caymanian as defined by the immigration law.
Still Caymanian, whether you like it or not
But they are not all Caymanian. Previous government did zero vetting of applications. They just paid out.
Classic uselessness!
Error my ass
This just confirms the abject dereliction of duty and ought-right criminality hidden by the veneer of an inept civil service. It is shocking that the police and anti corruption commission were not already all over this. Were it not for the data leak nothing would have been done about any of this, as the Caymanian people’s money is squandered by those entrusted to be guardians of the public interest.
What about the alleged breaches of the Constitution, Public Service Management law and Public Finance Management laws by Chief Officer Eric Bush?
Is he a special case that merits protection by the Governor or Deputy Governor for his alleged breach of laws outlined in the Auditor General’s report? If so, why?
Wrong is wrong and there must be consequences for all at every level in the system.
When committed by our Elite nothing happens George; I know you aren’t that daft.
Doesn’t he own security center that has all the government contracts for security and wasted the citizen’s money on the non-functioning road camera system? Is he also a lodge member? The people have a right to know.
Jon Jon does have the security company, which has the contract for the airport.
Not sure that he is a lodge member. Even if he was, not sure Jon Jon would be much use.
Disgusting handling of funds. Disgusting leadership. It is the Caymanian way……………. and it is only the tip of the iceberg!
Money has a way of getting “misplaced” in our government. Is that the “Camanian way”?
Has the anti-corruption system ever discovered any corruption in our government” ? If not, WHY NOT?
Do we really have an anti corruption commission?
Where is it?
Has the anti corruption commission EVER done ANYTHING?
“Has the anti corruption commission EVER done ANYTHING?”
No.
You don’t REALLY think the police would get into something like this, do you??? And the anti corruption commission ??Has the Anti Corruption Commission ever done anything to stop corruption in our government? Has anyone ever been convicted for any kind of corruption? I don’t know of anyone even being charged!
Mark my words, DPP will not get a single conviction.
Not a thing will come out of all this. Honorable Saunders is very good at “sound bites” but very weak on action.
That is the point that should upset all of us. The different standards that get applied or the absence of clear standards which aids the political agenda. This leads to selective enforcement or punishment of only certain persons.
Ironically, from the civil service Chief Officer Eric Bush has been found by the Auditor General in her recent report to breaking laws including the Constitution, Public Service Management Law and the Public Service Finance Law whilst his boss the Deputy Governor who also acts as his judge in the disciplinary matters is conflicted yet seeks to have him fully exonerated. Why?
How is this acceptable if we are expected to trust the system?
The silence from the Governor’s office is deafening as he is perceived to be complicit due to his omission to prevent contracts being signed and established protocols being broken in some of the alleged actions committed by Eric Bush as the civil service is his responsibility.
Where is the concern from our leaders that highlights the lack of accountability and transparency for a chief officer with a track record of failure, incompetence and now alleged breach of laws?
The rules in Cayman seem to change subject to the individual that has broken the rules and then excuses are made because the fox is watching the hen house and history has taught us Lodge members are never held accountable in the Cayman Islands.
Whatever happens to Chief Officer Bush in the coming weeks is an indictment on the entire system and the sham that accountability, transparency and good governance exists that the public demands. It will show the public that the sanctioning of Minister Bush for his unruly behavior that upset the top brass is all about who you know, teaching other ministers a lesson as he exposed too much about a broken system given his uncouth style and lack of professionalism versus the protection offered to a special class of senior civil servant, lodge man and Caymanian that is deemed to be “special” given family bloodlines.
In Cayman “all animals are equal but some are MORE equal than others” and the goal posts shifts depending on where you are from and who ya daddy is?
Not sure that this is about family bloodlines as much as it is about a Lodge man cover up.
Who is his daddy?
Is his daddy in lodge?
Is his daddy a senior Freemason?
Multi-generational corruption and cover ups are common in the Caymans
Cover ups for Lodge man, yes. But, cover ups for regular multi generational Caymanians, no. Check the facts.
I understand that you have got a truly desperate hard-on to see Eric Bush crushed but I wish you would not include in your handle the name of a brilliant writer who would have expressed his view clearly and cogently in one tenth of the rambling words you use.
Eric Blair-Bodden.
Are you an active member of the Friday night supper club at Cayman Lodge No. 8153 or Brac Lodge No. 9470?
Do you attend meetings with the other brethren that feel entitled and protected by the fraternity of members that congregate at Freeman’s Hall 321 Mahogany Way?
Knowing is not enough. Do you live your craft?
The tenets of Freemasonry include “it seeks no advantage for its members through business or politics. As a matter of fact, neither religion nor politics may be discussed in the Lodge room.’
The GAOTU is watching us all.
Remind them all my brother
O.K. I have them marked. I will be waiting to see who got the give-aways and see if they were prosecuted.
Correct,3.23 the miscreant’s politician will intervene , and no wotes will be lost.
Depends who you’re related to.
Related to statutory authority board members as a start.
You even think there will be charges brought?
another glorious day for our world class civil service….zzzzzzz…wherby widespread fraud is ‘unfortunately’ exposed due to civil service gross incompetence.
just another day in wonderland…..
This is criminal. It is several levels beyond inept. Where are the police? Are they in on it too, or what? Does anyone in Government or law enforcement even understand the concept of maladministration?
#worldclassmyass. #Leggewasright.