ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – A veteran Guyanese journalist with more than 10 years of professional ties to the British Virgin Islands, Cathyoliva O. Richards, faces mandatory expulsion from the territory more than a year after her conviction on a charge of uttering forged documents. The official deportation directive was signed by Governor Daniel Pruce on October 20, 2026, and formalized as Statutory Instrument 2026 No. 63, which was published in the territory’s Official Gazette on October 22, 2026. The order requires Richards to depart the Virgin Islands within 30 days of being formally served a copy of the document, and to remain excluded from the territory permanently thereafter.
Richards, who has served as a senior reporter for local outlet Japhix Entertainment (JTV) since 2016, first faced legal scrutiny alongside production assistant Hitesh Yadram over falsified materials submitted to the Department of Labour and Workforce Development as part of 2021 work permit renewal applications. Prosecutors presented 18 pieces of evidence during the High Court trial, including three forged social security earnings certificates: one submitted on Richards’ behalf and two linked to Yadram. A senior staff member from the Social Security Board (SSB), Lisa McIntosh Bobb, testified that the signatures on the three documents were forgeries, despite bearing a close visual resemblance to her official signature. The falsified paperwork also contained a conspicuous typo, with the word “certificate” misspelled across all three submitted copies, according to evidence presented to the jury.
Following roughly three hours of deliberation, a nine-member jury composed entirely of women delivered their split verdict: Yadram was acquitted on all counts, while Richards was found guilty on the single charge of uttering forged documents. Both defendants remained stoic as the verdicts were read aloud in court, but Richards broke down in tears immediately after the jury was dismissed and Yadram exited the courtroom. On January 16, 2026, High Court Justice Angelica Teelucksingh handed Richards a two-year fully suspended prison sentence, rather than immediate jail time. Prior to her sentencing, Richards had been granted extended bail under strict conditions, including a $30,000 bond, mandatory surrender of all travel documents, and a requirement to check in with the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force every Tuesday. The deportation order marks the final official administrative penalty levied against the well-known local journalist for her role in the 2021 document fraud scheme.