Government officials said they didn’t trust Bazilio Cobb Associates, a fiduciary agent contracted to manage U.S. Department of Education grants for the Department of Education. After the territorial government finished a three-year compliance agreement with the U.S. Department of Education, during which they were responsible for developing solutions to the problems the territory was experiencing in managing grant funds, the U.S. Department of Education found the V.I. government failed to meet the terms and imposed special conditions. One of those conditions was that the V.I. government had to contract a third-party fiduciary agent in order to be eligible to receive certain federal grant funds. Bazilio Cobb Associates was contracted 10 years ago and still maintains its role as overseers of all U.S. Department of Education grants for programs managed by the local Department of Education and the Virgin Islands Department of Human Services.“You guys have failed the Virgin Islands miserably,” Sen. Kenneth Gittens said during Tuesday’s Committee on Education and Workforce Development meeting. He urged his fellow senators to look at who they are doing business with and told Ralph Bazilio, CEO of Bazilio Cobb Associates, “All you guys are doing is milking us for millions of dollars.”
On February 10 at around 6:06 p.m., Kaminah Davis, age 29 of Estate St. John, turned herself into detectives of the Economic Crimes Unit after learning of a warrant for her arrest. Davis was charged with Grand Larceny, Obtaining Money by False Pretense, Forgery and Identity Theft. Sometime in 2019, Davis intentionally forged her mother’s signature on a check from an organization and wrote the check for over $4,000. Davis then electronically deposited the check into her mother’s Banco Popular account, knowing that she nor her mother was employed at the organization. Davis’ bail was set at $35,000. Unable to post bail, she was remanded to the Bureau of Corrections pending an Advice of Rights Hearing.