By KEVA LIGHTBOURNE, NG Senior Reporter

Almost two weeks after Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham announced the government's aid package to assist hundreds of Bahamians struggling to make ends meet, Social Services officers have uncovered a scam hatched by individuals to take advantage of the system.

Social Services Deputy Director Mavis Darling-Hill confirmed to The Nassau Guardian yesterday that some people have collected multi-assistance payments from a number of the department's locations.

And she admitted that the crowds of people seeking assistance are so "massive" it is difficult to control what is happening.

"I have heard about a couple of cases but we have not gotten any definite names yet. In one instance, I just heard someone called to say that one person was bragging to others at one center that she went to four other centers and she was able to get assistance [by] changing her name and other specifics," Darling-Hill said.

"We have been unable to catch up with this person or anyone else, who has skipped from center to center conducting these types of activities."

The new schedule of increases in assistance to the poor came into effect on October 1, two weeks after the government stepped in to help some 5,000 Bahamas Electricity Corporation consumers whose power supply had been disconnected for non-payment.

This latest package saw an increase in a number of areas including funeral assistance, uniform and shoes allowance for children, emergency and monthly food allowance, and utility payments, among other things.

Although not confirmed by Darling-Hill, one source told The Nassau Guardian that a list of persons suspected of involvement in the scam had been compiled and was in circulation throughout the centers.

The Guardian understands that the Fox Hill center has been targeted.

When The Guardian contacted Deborah Smith, senior officer in charge of that center, she declined to speak on the matter, pointing out that she had no authorization to do so. She referred the newspaper to Darling-Hill.

Up to press time last night, The Guardian was unable to ascertain the number persons on the list or the amount of money lost as a result of the scam.

But the source said as it stands "the work is exhaustive dealing with the hundreds of people who turn up each day for assistance, only to have a small group take advantage of the process".

Darling-Hill said while Social Services officers are asking for identification to guard against such behavior, there are still some persons who have been able to beat the system.

"We are asking for identifications but you know some people, they keep their maiden names on their birth certificates, but when they come, they come with their passport or something else. So it seems as if they are either using somebody else's or another identification where their name is on one and not on the other, and so they are going from one center to the other.

"And the crowds are so massive it is very, very difficult right now to control what is happening," admitted Darling-Hill.

Social Service officers are now asking that individuals seeking assistance bring in multiple forms of identification.

The Guardian understands that the centers are not computerized, and everything is done manually.

Darling-Hill said a number system is in place, and only a certain number of persons are allowed in the centers at any given time.

"Once we exceed a certain number we ask those persons to come in another day. It might not be the next day because we still have persons that would have come in earlier during the week that we would need to see. For example, today we saw persons who came in on Tuesday, and they fell in line with probably a couple of hundred others," she said.

In the meantime, Darling-Hill reminded the public that the food assistance and all the other programs are ongoing. "The only thing is, the prime minister announced that the programs have been increased," she said.