Former Home Gas Employee Jailed for Three Years Over Theft of More Than $35,000 from Dormant Customer Accounts

By Alric Lindsay

A former Home Gas customer‑service representative was sentenced to three years in custody today, August 3, 2026, for stealing more than $35,000 from the company by diverting “credits” from dormant customer accounts onto her own bank card.

Nicosia Lawson, Crown Counsel from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, told Magistrate Murray that Erica Vanessa Green was a customer‑service representative at Home Gas, with access to the company’s “Ignite” computer system and the point‑of‑sale card terminal.  The court heard that Green identified dormant customer accounts that still held credit balances, and used the terminal to credit “refunds” to her own debit card.

DPP Crown Counsel explained that the scheme surfaced during a May 2023 audit, when some unusual transactions were noticed; a wider review uncovered a series of transactions. Overall, 44 transactions in Cayman Islands dollars and one in US currency — 45 in all- were identified.

Reportedly, Green resigned on July 14, 2023, and was arrested at Home Gas days later. In police interviews, she admitted taking the money, initially citing hardship faced by her mother and saying she was trying to help with expenses. However, her mother had never asked her to take the money.

DPP Crown Counsel placed the offending in the high‑culpability bracket — a serious breach of a high position of trust, sophisticated and planned — with a guideline starting point of three years’ custody, and cited comparable cases.

In mitigation, Defence Counsel Clyde Allen, who appeared by video-link, pointed to Green’s early admissions, her clean record and significant mental‑health difficulties, and urged a non‑custodial sentence.

Magistrate Murray examined the medical material closely, observing that the reports did not independently confirm the history asserted, and questioned whether the circumstances — however difficult — excused the offending, noting that Green had decided “of her own volition” to take the money.

Magistrate Murray imposed a sentence of 36 months in custody on the first count — the theft of CI$35,540.24 — and 12 months on the second count, the theft of US$319.21, the two terms to run concurrently, for a total of 36 months.  In addition, DPP Crown Counsel indicated that the Crown would pursue confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act, and a timetable was set leading to a confiscation hearing on 4 January 2027. A compensation order was initially requested by DPP Crown Counsel, but that was abandoned once it was clear that such compensation would not be possible since Green earned a low income and would be in prison for the next 36 months in any event.