Former Treasury Cashier Pleads Guilty to Stealing $5,000 in Public Funds

A former cashier at the Government Treasury Department has pleaded guilty to stealing five thousand dollars in public funds.  Thirty-five-year-old Shamira Hope of South Street, Belize City, changed her plea from not guilty to guilty when she appeared unrepresented in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.  The theft occurred in October 2024 while Hope was employed as a cashier at the Treasury Department. According to the court facts, a routine cash check found that one hundred fifty-dollar notes, amounting to five thousand dollars, were missing from Hope’s cash pan.  When confronted by a finance officer, Hope reportedly admitted taking the money for medical reasons. The matter was reported to police, and she was later charged with theft.  As a first-time offender, Hope was spared imprisonment and fined one thousand five hundred dollars, plus five dollars in court costs. She has until November 27 to pay. Failure to do so will result in three months’ imprisonment.