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Addressing the verdict in a statement Thursday afternoon, U.S. Attorney Adam Sleeper said public corruption “erodes trust in government and interferes with the provision of important services to the community.”
“These convictions show that those who violate the public trust, whoever they are, will be held accountable.”
Joe Rodriguez, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Juan field office, said Thursday’s verdict “delivers a clear message: no one is above the law.”
“The FBI remains steadfast in our commitment to rebuild public trust, which is the foundation of our democracy,” he stated.
A jury found former V.I. Police Commissioner Ray Martinez and former V.I. Management and Budget Director Jenifer O’Neal guilty on all counts Thursday afternoon, concluding a week-long federal corruption trial. Martinez and O’Neal are the second and third former Virgin Islands government cabinet members to have been found guilty of accepting kickbacks this year.
Their sentencing hearing is slated for June 10, 2026. Martinez was directed to surrender himself to the court on Feb. 17, 2026, and will await sentencing behind bars.
The case went to a jury late Wednesday afternoon. After choosing a foreperson, their first acts were to request the “law document” — which U.S. District Court Judge Mark Kearney interpreted to mean a written copy of the jury instructions — and signal their intent to retire for the day before starting deliberations in earnest Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. They deliberated for approximately five hours before the court reconvened just before 2 p.m. and the foreperson read the verdict.
Martinez was found guilty of five counts of honest services wire fraud as well as bribery concerning federally-funded programs, money laundering conspiracy and two counts of obstructing justice. O’Neal was found guilty of two counts of wire fraud, bribery and money laundering conspiracy.
Honest services fraud, according to the U.S. Code, occurs when public officials “deprive another of the intangible right of honest services” by misusing their positions for personal gain. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Bribery concerning federally funded programs carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if the exchange involves at least $5,000. Money laundering conspiracy is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and each obstruction of justice count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Martinez and O’Neal’s exact sentences will be up to a federal judge.
The pair was indicted by a federal grand jury in January after being accused of accepting payments and kickbacks from a former contractor and convicted felon, David Whitaker, who became a cooperating witness for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in September 2023. Prosecutors claimed Martinez helped Whitaker secure a nearly $1.5 million V.I. Police Department contract funded through the American Rescue Plan Act, which distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to help communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Whitaker testified this week to making various payments to and for Martinez.
After Mon Ethos was awarded the contract in October 2023, he inflated multiple invoices for Martinez and O’Neal to authorize in exchange for things like kitchen equipment for Martinez’s restaurant and tuition payment for his kids’ private school, as well as a security deposit for O’Neal’s coffee shop, Java Grande.
“It was all calculated, deliberate and corrupt,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Cherrisse Amaro told jurors during the government’s closing statements. “And now, the responsibility to hold them accountable lies with you.”
