A 10-year sentence was handed down Wednesday against one of two defendants in the embezzlement of $1.7 million from the Little Switzerland chain of stores. Territorial Court Judge Brenda J. Hollar sentenced Lorraine Quetel to the jail term, of which four years will be suspended.
Hollar imposed sentence after a 45-minute hearing in which Quetel's attorney, Frederick Watts, entered additional evidence which he said showed remorse on his client's part. "She has shown a willingness to confess to the crime, pay back cash and return jewelry and has offered restitution over a 10-year period, should she be allowed to remain free and continue to work," Watts said.
But Assistant Attorney General Douglas Sprotte told Hollar before sentencing that he had expected to hear the defendant offer title to all of her assets as a condition of restitution. In fact, Sprotte asked Quetel twice during cross-examination, "Are you prepared to hand over all of your assets to Little Switzerland?" She responded, "If I have to."
Sprotte told the court the government was concerned that it had not heard Quetel say, "This is what I own—it's Little Switzerland's." His comments sparked the ire of Watts, who accused Sprotte of making an "improper and inappropriate statement." Watts said the government has known all along about the assets Quetel and her husband own. He implored the court to "allow Quetel to continue to make the restitution she has started."
Government prosecutors have maintained that Quetel used her position in Little Switzerland's accounting department to embezzle $1.7 million from the company, and that co-defendant Lydia Magras compounded the crime by allowing the funds to be deposited into accounts of the now-defunct Bon Voyage Travel, which the two owned.
Wednesday's sentencing was the first time that Quetel had taken the witness stand to explain her role in diverting the funds. But she never got that opportunity, as Hollar allowed Watts to only introduce a few documents as new evidence.
"I have seen it all, time and again," Hollar said, as she asked Watts what he hoped to accomplish by introducing new information on his client's behalf.
Wednesday's proceeding also revealed for the first time some of the assets Quetel owned with her husband, including a house in Estate Wintberg, a fishing boat, a pleasure boat,
a Ford Mustang, a pickup truck and two other vehicles. Quetel also testified that she and her husband own property in Calle, Puerto Rico and for a time operated Hector's Bar.
She told the court that aside from transferring monies from Little Switzerland to the Bon Voyage Travel Agency accounts, she made loan assignments to two friends, Tanya Martin and former police Cpl. Granville Christopher. In Christopher's case, the $42,000 loan was to satisfy a mortgage on his family home in Altona. Quetel testified she wrote the check directly to Chase Manhattan Bank on Christopher's behalf.
Before sentencing Quetel, Hollar noted that the court had received some 27 letters from family, friends and acquaintances seeking leniency for the defendant, and had reviewed the Little Switzerland victim impact statement as well as an Inspector General's report on the embezzlement. "The court cannot find any economic reason why Lorraine Quetel embarked on a scheme to defraud and violate the trust of her employer, expect for greed," Hollar said. The monies were stolen during an eight-month period, she said, to the tune of $1.7 million, and when interest is calculated at $153,000 a year, "that's over $2.2 million."
As far as the restitution Quetel has made and proposes to continue making, Hollar said, "it does not touch what has been taken."
"The court has looked at every aspect of this matter, time and time again, but it cannot overlook the fact that Lorraine Quetel took the money," Hollar said. In addition to the 10-year sentence of which four years will be suspended, Hollar assessed a $75. fee to cover court costs.
She deferred restitution to Little Switzerland until after the pending civil action is completed.
Sprotte had "no comment" after the sentence was handed down.
As Quetel was being escorted into custody by Territorial Court Marshals, family members filed out of the courtroom quietly. It is believed that Quetel will serve out her sentence at the Golden Grove Correctional Facility in St. Croix.
Outside the courtroom, Little Switzerland attorney Adriane Dudley said, "One sad chapter in this story has ended—unfortunately, it's not over." Civil suits brought by Little Switzerland against both defendants in the case are pending.
Sources in the judiciary have confirmed that Wednesday's sentencing of Lorraine Quetel paves the way for Judge Ishmael A. Meyers to sentence the second defendant, Magras, who in May pleaded no contest to compounding the crime of embezzlement.
That sentencing may not come before next week as Meyers began presiding over a murder trial Wednesday which should last at least three days. Magras' sentencing had been set for Tuesday but was postponed—presumably until Quetel was sentenced, sources said.
