A person who worked for a sub contracting company and was tasked with handling customer care for Arms Ltd. has admitted to fraud and taking customers' funds which were intended to pay bills.

Charmaine Camilleri, 41, from Marsascala, also stood charged of taking and disclosing computer data without authorisation. She had pocketed €15,000.

Camilleri would take the calls and say she had no solution to complaints regarding excessive bills, however she would call back later using her personal phone, telling the customers she could help. The customers would entrust their funds to Camilleri in hope that their problem would be resolved, but would realise something was wrong when fresh bills are sent.

Mobile phone messages were presented in court as evidence, so were receipts and the woman's work schedule.

 The woman admitted to the charges and was given a two-year jail term, suspended for four years. The accused was also ordered to reimburse the victims.

 

Enemalta statement

Enemalta said that, following a request for assistance from a small number of customers, it collaborated with the Police and investigated allegations of misappropriation of customers’ funds by a third party.

“The Company took immediate action as soon as it was informed that an unauthorised person had allegedly defrauded customers by requesting money to settle their utility bills. Details of the person involved and all information received were immediately passed on to the Police for further investigations. The person allegedly involved, who was arraigned in Court today, is not an employee of Enemalta plc, of the Water Services Corporation or of their subsidiary company Automated Revenue Management Services (ARMS) Ltd.” 

“It was also alleged that the same person involved was offering a device that could affect meter readings. This allegation was investigated and found to have been untrue,” the company said.  

Enemalta plc and ARMS Ltd encourage customers to pay their utility bills through authorised channels only, as clearly indicated in the information given on each bill they receive. Customers who have any details about this case or any other irregularity that may be related to Enemalta’s services are invited to contact the Company’s customer care team on 8007 2224 or [email protected], or to submit the information anonymously through the Company website www.enemalta.com.mt.