Juli Campbell was sentenced to 14 months in prison for fraud related to FEMA’s Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power (STEP) Program. Mrs. Campbell, the owner of a Puerto Rico construction company, pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining disaster relief funds intended to help rebuild after the 2017 hurricanes. Campbell ran a scheme submitting fraudulent invoices and timesheets related to a STEP-funded subcontract, showing work not actually performed. Campbell was also ordered to pay $179,033 in restitution.
With about 3 months till the St. Thomas carnival, the VI Carnival committee has found themselves locked out of their offices. Committee Chair Edgar Phillips says he filed a police report when he and staff attempted to enter the offices to find the locks have been changed. There is an ongoing controversy with the VI Carnival Committee and the Dept of Festivals a new division of Tourism as to who’s running the Carnival.
This weekend high school teams throughout the territory will compete for the winning title at the annual IAA/McDonald’s MLK Jr. Boys and Girls Memorial Invitational Basketball Tournament. Teams from St. Thomas, St. Croix and the British Virgin Islands will play in back-to-back games throughout the holiday weekend starting tomorrow January 17th at 4:00 pm in the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School (IEKHS) gymnasium with championship finals on Monday, January 20th. Last years’ winners were the IEKHS Boys team and Central High SchoolGirls team.