St. Thomas, USVI — Violet Anne Golden, the former chairperson of the Virgin Islands Casino Control Commission, has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for stealing nearly $300,000 in government funds and failing to file an income tax return. The hard fall of Golden, once a top regulatory official, marks a stark rebuke to corruption in the territory’s highest offices.
Golden pleaded guilty to Theft of Government Funds and Failing to File an Income Tax Return, admitting she siphoned Commission money through bank wires, wrote unauthorized checks, and used government credit cards for personal expenses. The theft spanned her tenure in office, during which she earned a $105,000 annual salary — none of which was reported to federal tax authorities.
According to court documents, Golden’s spending spree wasn’t just about personal gain — she funneled stolen funds to benefit others, exploiting her position to treat the Commission’s accounts as a private piggy bank. Investigators found records of unauthorized transactions across multiple accounts, painting a picture of systemic abuse.
Golden was taken into custody on January 14, 2020, immediately after entering her guilty plea in federal court. She has remained behind bars ever since, awaiting sentencing. In addition to prison time, she has been ordered to pay full restitution for the $299,000 stolen from the Commission.
U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert didn’t mince words: “Territorial and federal investigators have worked tirelessly to expose this serious abuse of the public trust. We hope that yesterday’s sentencing will remind everyone that public officials are not above the law.” Her statement underscored the broader message federal prosecutors are sending in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
IRS-Criminal Investigation’s Miami Field Office, led by Special Agent in Charge Michael J. De Palma, emphasized that tax crimes are non-negotiable. “High ranking officials perpetrating a fraud scheme by utilizing funds from the Government of the Virgin Islands betray the public’s trust,” De Palma said. The case was jointly investigated by the FBI, the Office of the Virgin Islands Inspector General, and IRS-CI, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Brooks.
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Key Facts
- State: Virgin Islands
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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