Local News

Last Friday a jury of seven women and two men deliberated for about two and a half hours before it found Michael Coye, Melonie Coye,  Atlee Matute and Dietrich Kingston guilty of money laundering for $1.5 million. On Wednesday the four were back in court in front of Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin for sentencing. Melonie Coye was sentenced to three years in prison.  She was additionally charged $50,000.00 which she has to pay in one year or in default she will spend an additional year behind bars.  Her father Michael Coye was also sentenced to three years in prison and charged $25,000.00.  Atlee Matute and Dietrich were issued fines of $25,000.00 each.  They must an installment of $10,000.00 by November first and the rest in installments of $500.00.  On December 31, 2008 police conducted a search at the home of Michael Coye on Johnson Street where they found the one point five million dollars.  The prescribed offence for money laundering was that the four forged a number of documents for which the names of the persons were put along with their purported signatures for money that was purportedly sent to them through Money Gram Exchange, a company which Michael and Melonie were directors and shareholders. To prove its case, the prosecution called 18 witnesses.  The defendants were represented by attorneys Dickie Bradley, Arthur Saldivar and Brian Neal. The Financial Intelligence Unit was represented by counsels Antonette Moore, Tricia Anderson and Patricia Arana. The trial was a retrial. The four along with three others were freed of the charge at the first trial. The three others were Michael’s wife Marleni, his son, Jude and Melonie’s husband, James Gerou. The FIU appealed the verdict of the first trial and Belize Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and ordered a retrial for four of the seven.