Former Virgin Islands Officials Sentenced for Bribery & Money Laundering

Two former senior officials in the US Virgin Islands have been sentenced for their roles in a procurement fraud, bribery, and money laundering scheme involving federal pandemic relief funds.

Ray Martinez, former Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD), was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Jenifer O'Neal, former Director of the Virgin Islands Office of Management and Budget (OMB), received a seven-year custodial sentence.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Martinez accepted close to $100,000 in bribes from government contractor David Whitaker. The payments included cash alongside funding for luxury travel, personal expenses, private-school tuition, and restaurant equipment. In return, Martinez used his official position to approve invoices submitted by Whitaker and awarded Whitaker's company a $1.4 million contract financed under the American Rescue Plan Act.

O'Neal, the territory's chief budget official, knowingly approved a $70,000 inflated invoice under the same contract. She subsequently accepted a $17,730 lease payment for her business, Java Grande, drawn from the federal funds released through that inflated invoice.

Evidence further showed that, after becoming aware of the federal investigation, Martinez sought to obstruct justice by directing Whitaker to destroy evidence and by creating a fraudulent promissory note to conceal the bribery.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) San Juan Field Office, St Thomas Resident Agency, with assistance from the Virgin Islands Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by the Justice Department's Criminal Division Public Integrity Section and the US Attorney's Office for the District of the Virgin Islands.

Read the press release here.