Former Lion Club Member Pleads Guilty to Embezzling

    (From Love FM News, Belize City) The court case between expelled Lion Member, Kainie Manuel of San Pedro Town and the Zone 59 Lions Organization of Belize came to an end on Friday October 8th at the San Pedro Magistrate Court.

    Manuel pleaded guilty to the charge of forgery after she was accused of exhausting the Zone’s bank account earlier this year. After failing to appear in court on Thursday, October 7, Magistrate Patricia Arana issued a bench warrant for Manuel’s arrest. Ms. Manuel was subsequently detained that same evening and escorted to court by the police on Friday morning where she pleaded guilty.

    Zone 59 Chairman Baldemar Graniel gave Manuel three options of repayments. The first option was that the money be paid in full, the second option was for the total to be divided into equal five monthly payments which is equivalent to the length of time that she took the money and the third option was for it to be divided into the months left for the Zone Chairman to complete his term in office.

    Manuel told Magistrate Arana that she is not working but offered to pay the sum of $500.00 on the fifth of every month until the full amount of $10,000.00 is repaid back to the Zone’s Atlantic Bank Account. Graniel agreed to the terms of repayment on the advice of the Magistrate.

    The forgery case was a civil suit but there is still a pending criminal charge of robbery for the same offense. In regards to the case of robbery, Graniel explained to Arana that he would not withdraw the charges but instead put it on hold until the Zone collects all the money embezzled by Manuel via the civil suit. He said that in the event that Manuel fails to honor the court’s decisions, he would then proceed with the robbery case against her.

    The magistrate informed Manuel that because the criminal case was not drop and it was a separate hearing from the civil suit, she (Manuel) will still have to present herself in court at every occasion that the case is called for court date and on every adjournment thereafter. Hence Manuel is to reappear in court to continue with her robbery charges on November 6.