Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Bill in USVI calls for persons to be jailed or fined for lying to Gov't

Bill in USVI calls for persons to be jailed or fined for lying to Gov't

Any person who is found guilty of making false, fictitious or fraudulent claims on the government of the Virgin Islands, its departments, boards and commissions among other arms will face a fine of $2,500 and five years of imprisonment if a bill approved in the Senate Committee on Rules and Judiciary Thursday, June 2, 2022, is signed into law.

“As a member of this institution for over 23 years, I have worked with senators, I have worked with central staff and now I am in the capacity as a senator and I have seen some things happen on this Senate floor over the years that has concerned me as it relates to certain testimonies,” bill sponsor Senator Alma Francis Heyliger told committee members as part of her justification for pushing the legislation.

Those in the crosshairs of the would-be law are people falsifying, concealing, or covering up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact, among other language in the measure, seen here.

Senator Novelle A. Francis supported the bill. “I support the measure, it speaks to accountability,” he said while pointing out that it will cause anyone who is presenting information to a government official or the Senate to be truthful.

"Anyone who is faulty or tries to defraud the government in any way, shape or form should be held accountable," he added. "Off course after due process and a determination is made whether by a judicial officer or a jury of their peers that they have been convicted of wrongdoing, then they should be culpable and responsible for their action."

Loopholes need to be blocked- Senator Johnson


Senator Franklin Johnson said that some amendments are needed to block certain loopholes in the bill, pointing to audits performed by the Office of the Inspector General that have found widespread misuse and abuse of government resources.

"We definitely need to start making sure that when these types of legislation go forward that the enforcement part is there,” he said.

All other senators at the hearing supported the bill which was forwarded to the full body for further consideration.

The committee also approved the following measures:

*  Bill No. 34-0206 An Act amending Title 23, chapter 5, section 460 of the Virgin Islands Code, repealing reciprocal recognition of firearm licenses for persons that own firearms outside of the Virgin Islands.

*  Bill No. 34-0225 An Act amending title 5 Virgin Islands Code, subtitle 2, chapter 201, section 2539 to increase the penalties for failure to report certain crimes.

*  Bill No. 34-0226 An Act amending Act Nos. 8474, 8479, 8486, 8494, 8496, and 8498 to adjust the fiscal year 2022 budget to appropriate funds to the Casino Control Commission for capital outlay, WTJX for capital outlay and satellite uplink respectively, Elections System of the Virgin Islands for General Election, Virgin Islands Cricket Board, Department of Tourism for personnel and fringe benefits, Virgin Islands Board of Nurse Licensure for personnel and fringe benefits, and 8% salary restoration Social Security and Medicare taxes reimbursement to the Economic Development Authority, Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center and the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority.

The committee, which met at the Earle B. Ottley Legislative Hall also approved Dr. Bradley Keys, Virgin Islands Chiropractic Board and Rev. Atty. Wesley Williams, Jr., Re-Nomination to the UVI Board of Trustees.

Members also approved the following resolutions:

Bill No. 34-0201 A Resolution honoring and commending Kemit-Amon Lewis for his outstanding service and contributions to the Marine Science industry in the Virgin Islands.

Bill No. 34-0202 A Resolution honoring and commending Eugene “Genix” Thomas posthumously for his outstanding contributions to the Virgin Islands community as a baseball, softball, and life coach.

Bill No. 34-0203 A Resolution honoring and commending Alvin Delano Burke, Sr posthumously for his service and contributions to the sport of basketball, horse racing and to the people of the Virgin Islands.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×