She's been at the center of a growing scandal for over a month and today 23 year old immigration clerk, April Parchue daughter of Immigration Director Peter Parchue was taken to court for embezzling $365 dollars from the department which is just part of an investigation which involves $36,000 in missing money.
Today in court, Parchue was read 10 charges of theft and 10 charges of false accounting for 10 receipts that were falsified in the amount of $10 dollars right up to $100 dollars, dating back to April of last year. The prosecutor objected to bail because it is a crime committed against the state but her attorney Lutchman Sooknandan convinced the court that there is no flight risk. With that magistrate Margaret Gabb-Mckenzie granted her bail of $20,000 or two sureties of the same amount on the condition that she surrenders her travel documents. But because she got to court late in the afternoon, April Parchue did not meet bail and will spend another night in police custody.
April was picked up at her Vista del Mar home last night.
The case first came to public attention on March 30th when Director Peter Parchue relieved her of her post and placed her on three weeks leave with full pay under the allegation that she misappropriated several thousand dollars. The audit department conducted a six-week investigation and after amassing dozens of receipts that had been falsified, handed the file over to police on.
April worked as a cashier at the Belize City office shortly after she was hired in February of last year. She allegedly falsified receipts, over charging persons who were applying for immigration services; entered a far smaller amount in the copy which goes into the records and there's no accounting for the difference.
The case has had a polarizing effect on the department where career officers feel that April Parchue got special deferential treatment while a number of officers have not been given that luxury in the past few months.