ST. THOMAS, USVI, (CMC) – The former police commissioner of the United States Virgin Islands Police Department (USVIPD), Ray Martinez, and former director of the USVI Office of Management and Budget, Jenifer O’Neal, have been charged with participating in a bribery and money laundering conspiracy.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Martinez, 56, and O’Neal, 53, accepted bribes from a then-government contractor, David Whitaker.

The indictment alleges that the scheme began in November 2022 and continued until June 2024, with O’Neal joining the scheme no later than January 2024.

It is alleged that the defendants conspired to launder proceeds from the bribery scheme through a monetary transaction to pay rent on O’Neal’s coffee shop.

The indictment states that, in exchange for the bribes paid by the government contractor, Martinez and O’Neal, among other official acts, allegedly agreed to approve fraudulently inflated invoices and assist with obtaining payment for those invoices by the USVI to Whitaker.

Martinez also agreed to assist Whitaker in obtaining a US$1.48 million contract to provide services to the USVIPD in October 2023, the indictment says.

Additionally, after the investigation was originally made public, the indictment says Martinez “allegedly obstructed the investigation by encouraging Whitaker to destroy evidence associated with Martinez’s criminal activity and produced falsified documents in response to a subpoena.”

The DOJ said Martinez and O’Neal are each charged with five counts of honest services wire fraud, which each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; one count of federal program bribery, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; and one count of money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The DOJ said Martinez is also charged with two counts of obstruction of justice, which each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.