Violet Anne Golden with one of her brothers leaving the District Court on St. Croix following a hearing on July 17, 2019. Photo Credit: ERNICE GILBERT FOR VI CONSORTIUM
After being arrested on July 16 2019 by federal investigators, Anne Violet Golden was sentenced to two years in federal prison by Judge Robert Molloy on Thursday.
The sentence capped an investigation and court hearings that captivated the community, after Ms. Golden, 60 — then-chairperson of the V.I. Casino Control Commission — became the subject of a damning 2018 Office of the Inspector General audit that alleged a flabbergasting array of questionable actions by Ms. Golden, whom the audit described as running the operations of the commission as if she were the sole authority, making major financial transactions with no secondary signatory.
On July 17, 2019 Ms. Golden and Stephanie Barnes, the latter a contract worker at the C.C.C., made their initial appearance before Chief Justice Wilma Lewis to face, in Ms. Golden’s case, 28 counts of fraud and related charges, and violation of federal and local laws, along with three forfeiture allegations. Ms. Barnes was charged with four counts of fraud and related charges, and violation of local and federal laws, along with two forfeiture allegations.
On January 14, 2020, Ms. Golden pleaded guilty to theft of government funds and failing to file an income tax return, and was taken into custody. According to the plea agreement filed in the case, Ms. Golden admitted to diverting nearly $300,000 in Commission funds for her own personal benefit and the benefit of others through bank wires, writing Commission checks, and using Commission credit cards. In addition, Ms. Golden failed to file an income tax return, despite earning an annual salary of $105,000. She was then remanded to federal custody pending her sentencing hearing.
Ms. Golden has already spent seven months at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Guaynabo Puerto Rico, a U.S. federal prison facility which holds inmates of all security levels who are awaiting trial or sentencing. This means she will serve another year and a half in prison before being released. She will also remain under supervised release for three years, and pay $295,503 in restitution to the C.C.C.
Ms. Barnes's trial is still pending and will commence on September 28. She has pleaded not guilty.
[Read: Damning Audit Report Shows Casino Commission Paid Electrician $112,700 for 11 Days of Work]
[Read: Anne Golden Holed Up in Office Refusing to Receive Removal Papers From D.o.j. Investigators]
