A former Government accountant has admitted stealing $1.9 million from the country?s coffers in a sudden change of plea only days before a trial by jury in New York.

He could now face a prison sentence of up to 280 years.

Harrison Isaac Jr, a former management accountant in the Accountant General?s office, had maintained his innocence since being arrested in 2004 and extradited to the US a year ago to face charges of looting the Government money from a Bank of New York account to which he had special access.

The 35-year-old Hamilton Parish man was accused of diverting money from the Government account to three companies that he and an accomplice controlled.

Prosecutors had prepared a case against Isaac claiming that the companies had never done any work for the Bermuda Government and the money was being stolen and put into US-based bank accounts to which he and his accomplice had access.

For more than a year Isaac, of Crawl Point Lane, had denied a string of technical charges relating to the theft of the money.

But late on Thursday, with his January 17 trial pending, he changed his plea at a federal court in Manhattan and admitted taking the Bermuda Government?s money from a bank account that was being used to pay the Island?s debts from customers who only accepted US dollars and was also used by Government to bank US cheques from debtors.

It was a result of the terrorist attacks on the USA in September 2001 that led to the change in banking procedures for those seeking to pay out of accept US dollar cheques.

Between May 2003 and April 2004 it was said Isaac siphoned $1,904,988.56 from the Bermuda Government?s account in the Bank of New York, using special access cards to make a series of unauthorised wire transfers.

Isaac was arrested at Bermuda International Airport in 2004 as he tried to leave the Island for Atlanta, Georgia.

He was handed over to US marshals at the airport on January 25 last year when he was extradited and flown to New York to face prosecution.

It is thought only $300,000 of the missing money has been recovered. Efforts have been made by the Government to gain access to bank account details linked to the crime, with an approach to the Supreme Court of the State of New York last July.

The Government made its pre-action application as criminal investigation information is not available to it from the US authorities making a ?civil discovery? necessary.

The application mentioned three companies; Bermuda on the Rocks, Simply Perfection and All Brand New, where it is thought the missing money was sent, and the Government also showed an interest in a number of other companies and bank accounts in the US.

Isaac faced one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 13 counts of wire fraud and one count of access device fraud.

The combined jail term he faces could total up to 280 years.

As part of his guilty plea, the Bermudian acknowledged that he had participated in a conspiracy to defraud the Bermuda Government of $1.9 million.

As The Royal Gazette went to press it was unable to discover the status of his alleged accomplice Teketa Thompkins, who has previously been indicted for aiding and abetting.

Isaac is now scheduled to be sentenced in April.