BELIZE CITY, Mon. Aug. 5, 2019– A former employee of ORISA (International Regional Organization for Health in Agriculture) appeared in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court today and was arraigned on a single charge of theft.

Saul Perez, a resident of Succotz Village in the Cayo District, appeared before Magistrate Stephanie Gillett and pleaded guilty to the charge.

Perez had concocted a story that he was robbed in the Yarborough area by three armed men, but when police investigated his story, it was not adding up, so police charged him with theft of $2,259 from his employer, ORISA.

Magistrate Gillett imposed a fine of $2,500 and Perez was ordered to pay the fine by October 15; if he defaults on payment, he will have to serve two years in prison.

So apart from his court fine, Perez is now unemployed and picked up a criminal record for a crime of dishonesty.

Police reportedly recovered $700 out of the stolen money.

After police investigated Perez’s story and found out that it was not adding up, Perez decided to “fess up” and admitted that he had not been robbed, but that he had spent the money to help his mother pay some bills.