Former Sports Council Accountant Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Over $1 Million from Government

Ivan Ayuso has pleaded guilty to stealing more than one million dollars from the Government of Belize.  Ayuso was given a sentence indication of a maximum of five years which led to his guilty plea this morning before Justice Nigel Pilgrim.  Ayuso was hired as the Sports Council Senior Accountant prior to 2016 when an audit report revealed that he was preparing checks and signing them without authorization.  The audit also shows that between August 2013 and August 2016, Ayuso was able to swindle one million, forty thousand, nine hundred and ninety-seven dollars and sixty-seven cents ($1,040,997.67) from government funds.  In 2021, Ayuso was arraigned for one count of theft and three counts of money laundering.  At the time of the 2021 arraignment, Minister of Kevin Bernard had the sports portfolio, and had commented on the Ayuso case saying that the theft occurred under Patrick Faber when he was the Minister of Sports.  He added that Ayuso should be asked to repay the one million dollars as the sports sector is in urgent need of that money.  For context, here is that interview with Bernard in early 2021.

Kevin Bernard, Minister of Youth, Sports, and E Governance (Feb. 8th, 2021): “The minister fully in charge of that entire ministry was the minister of education, now leader of the opposition. Whether it is Herman Longsworth who was the minister of state and the minister of sports, the lead minister was the minister of education, youth and sports at the time. The now current leader of the opposition. These things, let me go further. The auditor general report speaks clearly of what went wrong at the NSc. At that time, you might say yes, Ian Jones wasn’t there, so we’re not discussing him. But at the end of the day, the past administration, the past UDP administration who led the Ministry of Sports under the NSC, allowed this thing to come to the House, table at the House, but no Public Accounts Committee was held. And deliberately so. We are going to instigate that Auditor General Report once again because it has to go public. When it comes to Ivan Ayuso I don’t know the fella. I don’t, I’m not interested in the fella. But if he did so and it is rightly now that he has been charged then let him pay the penalty. And I will say this, let him return the money to the NSC because that is where it belongs, in the sporting arena. Look at the dilapidated state we have seen all of our facilities yesterday at the Victor Galvez handing over ceremony. Man, there’s a  expensive 2 or 2.4 or 4 million dollars I understand invested it at the Victor Galves stadium no bleachers, no basketball rim but just a court.”

Ayuso was out on a three hundred thousand dollar bail, but has now been placed on remand until October 19 for sentencing.  Love News understands that the plea agreement was entered into with the Director of Public Prosecutions.  Ayuso was represented by Attorney Darrell Bradley.  Our news archive show that Ayuso had a previous court case some 22 years ago when he was charged for allegedly being connected to the arson that destroyed the historic Paslow Building in Belize City. In 2005, however, a jury found him not guilty.