by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Fri. Feb. 14, 2025
Today, Friday, February 14, the former senior accounts officer at the National Sports Council (NSC), Ivan Ayuso, was sentenced to 5 years behind bars at the Belize Central Prison after confessing to stealing approximately 1 million dollars from the public coffers.
In the presence of his attorney, Darrell Bradley, who represented him in the High Court, Ayuso pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him – one count of theft and three counts of money laundering.
Ayuso allegedly siphoned 1,040,997.67 dollars from the NSC’s accounts in Belize City between August 2013 and August 2016, and used the stolen funds to purchase a home and a luxury vehicle, and cover personal expenses. Records also show that Ayuso had diverted some money into his accounts at three banks during that period.
When Ayuso was initially charged, he had been granted bail of $300,000, which he met in 2021. When the case was sent to the High Court before Justice Nigel Pilgrim in September 2024, Ayuso was facing the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if he decided to go to trial, but he decided to plead guilty to the charges, which resulted in a reduced sentence of 5 years.
Ayuso accepted responsibility for his actions, expressed deep remorse, and placed himself at the court’s mercy. Additionally, Bradley emphasized that Ayuso was a family man with a spotless record before being accused of the theft—with no previous convictions.
Besides being sentenced to prison time, Ayuso will lose the home that he bought with the stolen funds. That house will be repossessed by the government.
Of note, Ayuso was charged with arson for allegedly setting ablaze the Paslow Building in 2004, but the charges were dropped a year later.