Western Union employee flees with $19,000

An employee of the Western Union branch at Belinsco has reportedly fled the country after embezzling over nineteen thousand dollars. An internal investigation indicates that Hector Castellanos stole the money in late March by using his computer to make it appear that money was being sent to the Western Union in San Ignacio and then transferred to the sub branch at Cambranes Store in Belize City. Three such transactions in the name of Zoila Murray were made and the money was reportedly picked up by a woman. Although it is company policy that no one can receive funds without showing identification, it is not clear how the person in question got around this requirement. Castellanos and his girlfriend, who is from Honduras, are reported to have left Belize on April sixth. Western Union offices and police in Honduras and elsewhere in Central America have been put on the alert.