CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Ten people were arrested in one day on St. Thomas for fudging their COVID-19 tests prior to boarding a flight to the territory, authorities said.
Savonne Hunter, 38, of Lindenhood, New Jersey; Chalayaa Downing, 29, of New Jersey; Sashay Clegg, 36, of Morrisville, Pennsylvania; Laurie Downing, 60 of New Jersey; Kim Clegg, 61; Deanna Brittingham, 34, of New Jersey; Albonte Collins, 51, of Pennsylvania; Daisy Fregoni, 54 of Morrisville, Pennsylvania; Michael Clegg, 30 of New Jersey, and Raheem Thompson, 24, of New Jersey were arrested at 11:30 a.m. Friday upon landing in St. Thomas after they submitted an altered negative COVID-19 test to the USVI online travel portal, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
All ten individuals are facing charges including: fraudulent claims upon the government, access to a computer for fraudulent purposes, use of false information, and filing or recording forged instruments, according to the VIPD.
People were mostly incredulous on social media that so many persons had been arrested for the same thing on the same day in the same place.
“Ten in only one day,” Dwight Sometimeish Hill said from Road Town, Tortola. “Rock mashup now.”
Police sources said that six people have been arrested in St. Croix for submitting false COVID-19 tests recently.
The U.S. Virgin Islands currently requires visitors to provide a negative COVID-19 test within five days of arrival.
All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.