Maria Bento admitted to to fraud by dishonestly disbursing public funds from WEDCO as a property manager
Maria Bento, a former employee of WEDCO, has been jailed for three and a half years following a Supreme Court hearing.
Bento, represented by Jerome Lynch, KC, admitted to paying just over $11,000 of monthly rent between December 2017 and February 2021 – less than 10% of the $117,000 owed.
This was done through forging the manager’s signature to authorise a rent reduction.
Among the funds stolen, Bento accepted $16,334 of reimbursement from WEDCO, a former government quango.
She also deposited $10,000 into a joint bank account that was in arrears for the same amount.
She further deposited $2,500 into a joint credit card account, $2,000 to a personal credit card account and $2,000 into an unknown bank account.
Bento also admitted to fraud by dishonestly disbursing public funds from WEDCO as a property manager.
She was charged with evasion of liability by deception, forgery and obtaining a money transfer by deception.
Puisne Judge Juan Wolffe said people who commit these offenses of dishonesty have a deeply ingrained selfishness and impervious thoughts of impunity.
He stated Bento felt compelled to “bite the hand that fed her.”
The sentencing for the second offense was set at six months imprisonment suspended for two years.
Judge Wolffe indicated the full judgment would be published next week.
