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1. Tag: VI Casino Control Commission. Divi Casino Faces Two Week Closure and Fines. By Susan Ellis-November 11, 2020. Since 1999 the Virgin Islands Source – the.
2. Divi Carina Bay Casino (File photo) The two-member board of the V.I. Casino Control Commission heard one side of a petition to show cause involving Divi Carina Bay Resort and Casino’s license and will act on it even though the other side – the respondent – didn’t attend Tuesday’s scheduled meeting.
3. Divi Carina Bay Resort and Casino (File photo) The federal authority charged with overseeing labor relations between employers and their workers is asking a court to declare that the Virgin Islands Casino Control Commission cannot interfere with unionized workers or their collective bargaining rights.

The Casino Control Commission promotes public confidence and trust in the credibility and integrity of the gaming industry as an independent licensing authority. The Commission openly fosters partnerships and collaborates with all stakeholders while upholding objective and ethical standards with professionalism and integrity. The two-member board of the V.I. Casino Control Commission heard one side of a petition to show cause involving Divi Carina Bay Resort and Casino’s license and will act on it even though the other side – the respondent – didn’t attend Tuesday’s scheduled meeting.

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The Office of the Virgin Islands Inspector General has issued the audit of the administrative functions of the Virgin Islands Casino Control Commission (Casino Commission). The audit objective was to determine whether the Casino Commission effectively utilized its resources and carried out its administrative functions in accordance with established laws, rules and regulations, policies and procedures, and best practices for government agencies.

Our audit found that the Casino Commission was not effectively utilizing its resources to carry out its administrative functions in accordance with established laws, rules and regulations, policies and procedures and best practices. Specifically, the Casino Commission: (i) did not have formal procedures for authorizing, processing, recording, reviewing, and reconciling financial transactions; (ii) allowed members to incur $851,534 in credit card transactions and made $808,229 in payments to the credit card issuer without any formal review or approval process in place; (iii) allowed the Chairperson to process $1,062,860 in electronic fund transfers without another employee or Casino Commission member reviewing or authorizing the payments; (iv) allowed the Chairperson to process, $2,660,163 in check payments, reconcile bank statements and maintain sole custody of financial records; (v) did not submit required financial reports timely to the Department of Finance and the Virgin Islands Legislature; (vi) incurred operating expenditures totalling more than $3,772,803, of which, $1,315,635 was not supported with proper documentation; (vii) expended $680,172 in travel and travel-related expenses without having established formal travel policies and procedures; (viii) ignored the Government-wide travel policy while it did not implement a formal travel policy of its own; (ix) did not provide supporting documentation for $488,674 of travel and travel-related expenses; (x) did not implement internal procedures to ensure that travel expenses were properly controlled and accounted for; and, (xi) did not follow the procurement laws of the Government in obtaining professional services.

We attribute these conditions to the failure of the Casino Commission to: (i) develop internal policies and procedures; (ii) establish an internal control system to ensure, at a minimum, the separation of duties and adequate reviews; (iii) follow the requirements of the Code that requires the Casino Commission to submit financial reports and accompanying receipts to Finance and the Legislature; (iv) establish a system of checks and balances by the Casino Commission members, rather than allowing the Chairperson to assume sole responsibility for processing payments and maintaining supporting documents; (v) follow the Government-wide travel regulations; (vi) require supporting documentation to justify travel expenses; and, (vii) adhere to the procurement policies of the Government, or to implement policies and procedures of its own.

As a result: (i) in accordance with professional standards, whereas the Casino Commission’s oversight body and/or management should have developed internal controls, one person performed all critical financial management functions without input from the other Casino Commission members; (ii) numerous expenses are questionable due to the lack of documentation needed to verify the legitimacy of the expenses relative to the daily operations of the Casino Commission; (iii) numerous travel and travel-related expenses did not conform to the Government-wide travel policy; (iv) many of the travel and travel-related expenses were unsupported and are considered questionable in terms of their relation to the daily operations of the Casino Commission; and (v) professional services were obtained and contracts were executed by the Casino Commission that did not conform to the Government procurement policies or other best practices guidelines.
We made several recommendations to address the conditions and causes cited in the report. Our recommendations addressed the following areas: (i) internal controls; (ii) operating expenses; (iii) travel expenses; and, (iv) contracting. To view the report, click here.

Vi Casino Control Commission Monthly Reports

UPDATE: While Violet Anne Golden, the former Casino Control Commission (V.I.C.C.) chairwoman who was charged in a 30-count indictment on July 17, faces probation to 10 years in jail after agreeing to a plea deal that sees her admitting to two counts, upon closer examination of the plea deal, Ms. Golden will most likely serve 63-78 months in prison.

ORIGINAL STORY: ST. CROIX — Violet Anne Golden, the former Casino Control Commission (V.I.C.C.) Chairwoman who was charged in a 30-count indictment on July 17, along with alleged co-conspirator Stephanie Barnes, alleging the pair conspired to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in commission funds, could possibly see no jail time after signing a plea agreement admitting that federal prosecutors had enough evidence to prove she stole government funds.

The plea agreement, which was filed Wednesday but signed on Dec. 19, sees Ms. Golden conceding that the federal government could convict her on counts four and 27 of the 30-count indictment.

Count four reads, 'From on or about January 1,2018 through on or about December 31,2018, in the District of the Virgin Islands and elsewhere, and within the jurisdiction of this Court, the defendant, Violet Anne Golden, being an agent of the Virgin Islands Government, did embezzle, steal, obtain by fraud, without authority knowingly convert to the use of a person not the rightful owner, and intentionally misapply property worth at least $5,000 owned by, under the care of, and under the custody and control of an organization, government, and agency which received more than $10,000 in federal program benefits in a one-year period; that is, GOLDEN, an agent of the Virgin Islands government, obtained at least $5,000 in funds of the Virgin Islands government through the use of Commission credit cards and funds for the personal purchases.'

Count 27 reads, 'During the calendar year 2014, the defendant, Violet Anne Golden, who was a resident of St. Croix, VI, had and received gross income, including funds stolen and embezzled from the Commission and wages and compensation earned in her employment with the Commission, in excess of the minimum filing requirement and was therefore required under the income tax law of the Virgin Islands and the regulations issued thereunder to make an income tax return to the Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue, following the close of calendar year 2014 and on or before April 15, 2015. Well knowing and believing all of the foregoing, she did willfully fail, on or about April 15, 2015, in the District of the Virgin Islands and elsewhere, to make an income tax return. All in violation of Title 33, Virgin Islands Code, Section 1524.'

In essence, Ms. Golden is admitting to willful failing to file her tax returns and theft of federal program funds. Combined, the charges carry an 11-year maximum sentence — 10 years for theft of federal program funds and 1 year for willful failure to file tax returns. The plea deal admits, among other things, that Ms. Golden along with co-conspirator Ms. Barnes and others, used V.I.C.C. funds in the amount of $295,50 for personal use. Additionally, the theft of federal program funds charge carries a fine of $250,000, while the failure to file tax return count carries a $10,000 fine.

If the plea is accepted by a judge, Ms. Golden would have the possibility of no jail time. She would also steer clear of a possibly lengthy trial.

The plea deal also comes with other costly losses for Ms. Golden: she faces stiff financial penalties, including the forfeiture of all forfeitable assets.

According to the original indictment, Ms. Golden and Ms. Barnes used commission money for a variety of personal expenditures, including but not limited to trips to Walt Disney World, tickets to a Broadway production of Hamilton, and making a down payment for the purchase of a vehicle. Their publicly funded, lavish lifestyle allegedly included travel to a St. Kitts music festival aboard a private jet, stays at a posh Ritz-Carlton hotel in New York and thousands of dollars worth of jewelry and clothing from high-end retailers.

The indictment also alleges that Ms. Golden, who had an annual salary of $105,000, failed to file timely tax returns for the 2014 – 2017 tax years.

Vi Casino Control Commission Definition

Vi Casino Control Commission

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