A former exotic dancer from the US has been jailed for four years for stealing $1.4 million from the Bermuda Government. Teketa Thompkins received the money from her Bermudian boyfriend, Harrison Isaac Jr, who masterminded the fraud.

Her trial in New York last year heard how she laundered the dirty cash and spent it like she’d hit the lottery jackpot. Isaac, who abused his role as a Management Accountant in the Accountant General’s Department to commit the crime, has already been jailed for more than four and a half years.

Thompkins was sentenced yesterday by a judge who had heard Accountant General Joyce Hayward say of the fraud: “It’s significantly damaged the reputation of the Government of Bermuda. This is taxpayers’ money - they want to know where is their money, and when are they going to get it back. This has affected each and every one of them.”

Isaac, 36, illegally siphoned $2 million in total from an internet account the Accountant General’s Department held with the Bank of New York. He wired the cash to Thompkins and others during 2003 and 2004 - pleading guilty to fraud charges in 2006. The swindle was the biggest ever against the Bermuda Government.

Thompkins, 34, whose arrest at Bermuda airport smuggling $26,000 in her underwear led the authorities to catch Isaac, was found guilty in December 2006.

Both she and Isaac were dealt with by a court in New York due to the looted account being based in Wall Street.

The jury which found her guilty had heard her claim she had no idea the $1.4 million she received from Isaac was stolen. She said she had been duped by the person she believed to be the wealthy man of her dreams. Thompkins split with Isaac after his arrest, having discovered he was cheating on her with her best friend.

Prosecutors, however, painted a different picture of the former exotic dancer from Lizella, Georgia, who once ran a failed sex-toy business. They insisted she was fully aware of the fraud and did her best to cover Isaac’s tracks by shunting it between different bank accounts.

Thompkins carried on laundering the money even after she was detained at the airport, and her bank statements showed how she splashed it on extravagant shopping sprees.

Assistant US Attorney Jonathan Abernethy told the jury: “People don’t spend this kind of cash unless they win the lottery. Except this defendant didn’t win the lottery, because that’s legal. She was offered bags of cash and took them with open arms because she liked the money.”

Despite the evidence against her being accepted by the jury, a tearful Thompkins continued to protest her innocence yesterday.

“I would never intentionally deceive or hurt anyone. My good faith in Harrison Isaac caused money loss to the Government of Bermuda, and I’m mortified and apologise for that—I wrote cheques and I spent money and I accepted wires but at no time did I ever know that the money was stolen. I’m sorry. If I’d known the money was stolen, I would have turned him in myself,” she claimed.

Thompkins, a former US soldier, explained she has a four-month-old son and a 28-month-old son by two men who are no longer around. She told Judge Laura Taylor Swain that her children will be badly affected by her jail term.

The judge sympathised with her circumstances and handed her a sentence well below the recommended six to seven year range. She also ruled that Thompkins does not have to report to prison until March 7 2008 at the latest, in order to prepare her family for her absence. She must complete three years of probation upon her release.

However, said the judge, it “strained the imagination” to believe Thompkins received $1.4 million from Isaac without knowing she was engaged in a crime. Warning her to stay away from “shady activities” in future, she urged her: “Bear in mind that you are a role model for your children.”

Isaac, who is due for release next April, was ordered to forfeit the full amount he stole to the courts when he was sentenced. Thompkins is likely to be made subject to a similar order at a later date, which will see her compelled to pay the cash back in installments.

However, her lawyer Paul Madden announced after the hearing that he will appeal against both her conviction and sentence. This is likely to be heard by a three judge panel before the end of the year.

Mr. Madden said of the sentence: “I felt it should have been lower—Harrison Isaac was much more culpable and he only got seven months more.”

Thompkins declined to comment.