Ex–Fort George Hotel accountant charged in $125K online theft

A former accountant at Fort George Hotel & Spa is out on bail tonight, she’s accused of quietly rerouting more than one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars to her own account over several months. Thirty-nine-year-old Alicia Yvonne McKenzie, of Rivas Estate in Dangriga, appeared at the Belize City Magistrate’s Court late this morning. She was brought into Court #2 and read a single charge of theft. Investigators say that between April eighth and August fifteenth, 2025, McKenzie allegedly used online payments to funnel significant sums of money belonging to Fort George Hotel & Spa into a Belize Bank account tied to her name. No plea was taken today. The court set bail at ten thousand dollars, with two sureties of five thousand each. As a condition, McKenzie had to surrender her travel documents; she handed in her passport to the Clerk of Court before posting bail. Her next court date is set for February twelfth, 2026. According to the hotel’s Financial Controller, Indira Lumor, the alarm was raised after WhatsApp messages in the Finance Department led her to review vendor confirmation forms and online payment records. She says the same bank account number appeared under multiple vendors, something that shouldn’t happen. Cross-checking payroll, Lumor found the account belonged to McKenzie, and a deeper look turned up multiple unauthorized transactions totaling one hundred and twenty-five thousand, seven hundred and twenty-one dollars and seventy-two cents. Today, Inspector Henry Thomas formally arrested and charged McKenzie with theft.