BVI cop fined over $40K for defrauding Social Security Board
Brian Penn (Facebook photo)
Interdicted police officer and businessman Brian Penn has been convicted and sentenced for multiple counts of defrauding the state-owned Social Security Board (SSB).
Magistrate Ayanna Baptiste DaBreo fined the offender $8,400 for 84 counts of failure to make payments to Social Security. He was fined one hundred dollars per count.
She then slapped the offender with a massive $33,500 fine for 67 counts of evasion of liability by deception. He is to pay $500 on each count.
The Prosecution says Penn failed to make the required payment to the SSB for his employees, over a number of years. This is contrary to Section 10 of the Social Security (Contributions) Regulation which states: “Within 14 days of the end of each month, an employer shall transmit to the Director [of the SSB] … the total amount of contributions due by the employer and his employees during the said month.”
Five-year-old case
The convicted cop – whose case dates back as far as 2013 – reportedly defrauded the SSB through a company called Vanguard Security where he and his wife Harinder were listed as directors.
Initially, the couple was slapped with more than 200 counts fraud-related charges.
The extent of those charges include obtaining property by deception, false accounting, failing to keep proper records, failing to record contributions, failing to provide the certificate to the employee at the end of the year, failing to file returns by an employer, failing to provide the certificate to an employee on termination of employment, among other charges.
However, over the course of the five-year-old case, his attorney Patrick Thompson successfully argued to have some of those charges dismissed.
Thompson made what is known as a ‘no case submission’. In this submission, the attorney said there was an ‘overlap’ between the ‘evading payments’ charge and the ‘failing to make payment’ charge. Thompson effectively reasoned that his client was charged more than once for the same offence. The magistrate agreed with parts of his submission.
More penalties possible
Penn, in the meantime, is possibly facing even more penalties if the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decides to pursue the charges that can only be heard in the high court.
Those charges include obtaining property by deception and false accounting.
The BVI’s Criminal Code says a person convicted of false accounting is liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding seven years. The law further states that a person found guilty of obtaining property by deception is liable to a term of imprisonment of up to 10 years.
Copyright 2024 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
I hope e—- is next!!!
I sure hope he is NO LONGER in law enforcement!
Too many employers get away with this for too long. Glad to see the wheels of justice finally starting to turn, but a “five year case” suggests that they are turning far too slowly.
Some of them get away with too much nonsense. I know someone who was laid off since the hurricane and up to now the poor lady can’t get her severance pay from her job,they gave her every excuse except that Jesus is coming so they can’t pay her…every week is next week and so on. I feel bad for the lady cause she doesn’t even have a place to live and was depending on her little payoff money.
While this is a great victory for the SSB, it is unfortunate that this man has been taken to the cleaners while there are countless other employers intentionally defrauding their employees and failing to make payments to the Board as set out in the law. And he is only a small drop in the bucket as it relates to the size of his company and the income generated through this business.
What about those big fishes who remain at large? Are they being hauled in too? Regardless of their social standing within our BVI community, let us remember that what is good for the goose is equally good for the gander.
It has elected officials doing it too.
Only because he is local smh
Agree. Amazing how when the Locals do wrong their fellowmen overlook it.
When expatriates do the same they are condemned, abused and stereotyped as incorrigible reprobates to be deported by LIAT.
Hypocrites!
every day there’s another public servant (aka employee) doing wrong. The country isn’t that big to have this corruption day in and day out. Who brought you people up in BVI — M—n B—?Justice is slow? that’s an understatement. The cop who dimed on her fellow officers took from 2013 also– its a disgrace — who are these judges and attorneys prosecuting? my gosh.
Jail he backside
This was a test case. There are hundreds more like this, not forgetting those at IRD. The govt not broke just leaving the money on the street. This case should be a wake up for them.
“Nothing smells worst than a rotten cop”
We heard it have big ones in the social security system who does the same thing
All the other fraudulent and dead beat employers need to pay up and take care of their employees. It is fraud to withhold NHI, SSB…….etc from employees pay checks and pay it along with employer match to Social Security. It is gross disservice to employees, the key resource in any business. Failure to pay adversely impact employee health benefits and employee social security retirement payment. More dead beats must be brought to justice. Do the right thing dead beats; it is not 1984 (George Orwell’ s critically acclaimed novel) but you are being watch. What you see is what it is. The short-term benefit is not worth the long-term cost
OK. Why it took 5 years to bring this dead beat to justice? He may be a dead beat yet needs swift justice. Justice delayed is justice denied. These lengthy cases impose double penalty on offenders and on the offended, These cases need to be adjudicated in a more timely manner.
This is just small fries. A lot of construction company and finishing company are guilty of the same. Not paying in social security for their employee but deducted from their wages.
Social security has to set up a vibrant task force to deal with all these losses to the board.
is a new government that does not run on corruption and that focusses on enforcement of the laws. We might not be in the financial difficulties that we are if people were made to pay their taxes or suffer the consequences. No enforcement = people cheat the system = not enough money in the coffers = holes in roads, sewage running in the streets and shoddy schools……I want a government that has the b**** to hold people accountable and clean up the mess that both governments have created with cronyism and lack of enforcement.
They (SSB) only target small businesses and certain expats. I bet there are major violators within all sectors but because of whom the owners are they get a free pass. Same as owing the utilities (state owned) outsatansing bills but service is never cut off or are they fined/prosecuted. As the world turns….
bad piggy
There are many, many more out there.
Lets make an example of a couple of the big ones.
start with D—- —- he Attorney at law who take out SS and NHI and never pay it in
now we know the laws still have teeth. will these fine monies now be applied to the employees’ ssb accounts ?
I never understood why SS payments are not tied to trade licenses and work permits. When they are up for the yearly renewal, there should be the ability for trade and labor to see that payments are being made before giving renewals.
It is. They harass who they want to harass. Once Labour accused me of not doing so, me who ALWAYS up to date. Telling my employee that she cannot get her work permit renewed bc her SS payments were not up to date. I knew better and did not even study them till they called me talking bout it was mistake. Always lil people get harassed.
Time longer than twine BP????????????
deportttt him to anegada
You all keep your c—-p in Tola, Anegada do not need your filth on the flat land!
Brilliant idea, “An Idea”!!
Money makes good people better and bad people worse.
A shame.
I hope that not only Brian a local gets charge and it stops there. There are many more not paying and nothing has been done. Brian case dated back to 2013.
@ an idea?? Makes perfect sense if they are not already doing this. Keep the objective ideas coming. We can all benefit from them.
Shame on you British Virgin Islanders and now you guys what to start a war with The United Kingdom Government and fight and declare independence from the United Kingdom. Only a civil war would break out in the British Virgin Islands and all British Virgin Islanders would kill one another. No wonder the United Kingdom Government wants to take the reins again and run the political affairs of The British Virgin Islands. I think they should.
I hate to hear people like Maria Louisa Varlack talking about Virgin Islanders and UK want to take over. UK should have never been in no position to reign over the VI for so long, all because the people of the VI do not know the history of the British, considering how they enslaved our forefathers and build UK from their free labour. UK always want to take over where black people are, or some who can’t make it in UK and want to run things in VI always looking for a way for day Queen to send down her war ships. Why it doesn’t go to the Crown Dependencies and take them over? Well, Varlack, tell the UK, BVI will not be the safe-haven for it when the Muslims outnumber them in England. Melanin shall never die, no matter how they try.
Muslims represent 4.4% of the UK population. Its going to be long time until they could “outnumber” the rest of the populace. But even if they did, is there something inherently wrong with being a Muslim? Sounds like you carry some very nasty bigotry and prejudice. Most of the UK population are proud of the diverse, multi-cultural place it has become. I hope that one day BVI will show so much tolerance and love for those who do not “belong”.
Deport him.
Sorry…he is a B.V.Islander.
Yea
If you are a Penn…then why be a Pencil?
LOL.
Government need to look into these so call work
Places . They have people working and when you get
Sick you can’t get anything from social security because
They pocketing everything for them self..start to lock
Them up
Buck… lesson learnt sort it out. OAO
Hope you will also prosecute the countless other business men and woman who done the same thing to tax, ss and now nhi. Hope this just wasnt a one off w— hunt
Why dont you go after the local construction / contractor people as well?
SSB has been asking people to ask for a printout of the contributions made on your behalf. Just to be sure your employer(s) has indeed been making the contributions. Don’t trust others when you may lose at the end of the day. It’s easy to do – go check it out!
Sad thing is for a $10 bag of weed your punishment is more severe. This guy in his greed messed up lives