ACCOUNTANT Lorna Bhali wept bitterly as her 12-month sentence at hard labour was handed down Tuesday in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court where she was convicted for larceny as a servant, forgery and uttering forged documents.

Bhali, 39, was sentenced to three years – a year on each count – but the sentences run concurrently, so she will only serve time for 12 months.

She was found guilty of inflating the amount of money paid for salaries at the Kingston-based Data Graphics Limited where she was employed as accountant, and directing the excess funds to her personal account.

The fraud occurred between December 2003 and September 2004, the police say.

She was arrested by members of the Fraud Squad after auditors discovered the irregularities.

Bhali remained calm throughout the case but when her sentence was read out to her, she broke down in tears, covering her mouth and sobbing loudly.

Her sobs grew louder when she was being led away to the holding area by a woman cop, who tried to console her.

Bhali, who returned $100,000 of the funds she had siphoned and had her car possessed by Data Graphics Limited, had been given time by the court to come up with more funds to make restitution but was unable to do so up to yesterday.

Her attorney Arthur Kitchin begged Resident Magistrate Martin Gayle, who presided over the matter, to exercise leniency in sentencing Bhali.

“Incarceration would not assist the complainant to recover their losses nor would it help the accused to mend her ways,” Kitchin pleaded. The attorney also told the court that Bhali was the mother of two teenage children who would suffer if their mother was sent to prison.

The judge was unmoved.

“Mr Kitchin, I hear you,” the magistrate said, “Restitution goes a long way into mitigation. I have to do what I have to do.”

Bhali was then sentenced to 12 months for larceny of a servant, 12 months for uttering forged documents and 12 months for forgery.

“For the sake of children, I will say concurrent,” RM Gayle said.

Bhali will serve her sentence at the Fort Augusta women’s prison.

walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com