Seprod Group CEO Richard Pandohie on Thursday expressed deep disappointment at the $160-million fraud at the company that has resulted in 17 employees arrested.

“It was gutting, it was honestly gutting; disappointing beyond belief,” Pandohie told the Jamaica Observer after Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey announced the arrests following special operations conducted by the Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigations Branch (CTOC) Wednesday and Thursday this week in Clarendon, St Catherine, and the Corporate Area.

Bailey told journalists at a news conference that the investigation started in May 2022 when Seprod “reported an alleged case of fraud at Facey Commodity Ltd’s Van Sales Department”.

He said the investigation — which included members of the Fraud Squad, National Strategic Anti-gang Unit, and the Financial Investigations Division — uncovered that between October 2021 and May 2022 a total of $159,860,109 was stolen from the company.

The investigators, Bailey said, found that “two IT employees manipulated the computer system to facilitate 24 other employees” who participated in the fraud by collecting goods from the company’s warehouse on behalf of the Van Sales Department, subsequently sold the goods and kept the proceeds.

“This occurred on several occasions over the period,” Bailey said, adding that 14 of the 17 arrested employees have been charged so far.

Pandohie explained that the fraud started after a major fire in October 2021 destroyed 100,000 square feet of the food distribution facilities at Facey Commodity Company Limited, a Seprod subsidiary.

The blaze wiped out more than 86 per cent of the finished goods inventory, which also included Christmas stock.

On Thursday Pandohie told the Observer that the fire forced the company to change the way it operated to facilitate continued business.

“We lost our major warehouse, and persons in the system saw an opportunity and just took advantage of it in the worst of times for us. It was a big blow to us because you think you had inventory that didn’t exist… Morally it hurts,” he said.

“It was a tough period, but we’re getting through it,” Pandohie said.

“Thankfully, our new warehouse is now operational. We’ve now consolidated our operations and the lessons have been learnt and we’re in a better place now,” he added.

“We’re disappointed, but not broken… We are thankful that the police have continued the process and are now taking action, and we hope that the persons who are found guilty are appropriately dealt with,” Pandohie said.