WHO’S ZOOMIN’ WHO?

DHS Loophole: Indicted SNAP Clerk Answers the Call Despite Court Mandate

**DATA DOESN'T LIE:** A 2026 GVI Payroll search confirms **Lisaminelli Montanez** (pictured right) is the only individual with that name currently employed by the Department of Human Services. Despite a judicial order intended to protect taxpayer data, the *St. Croix Sun* confirmed Montanez remains active at her Mars Hill post as of Tuesday afternoon.

By JOHN McCARTHY / St. Croix Sun Investigative Reporter

FREDERIKSTED — In the world of St. Croix politics, they say the left hand often doesn't know what the right is doing. But at the Department of Human Services (DHS) Mars Hill office, the disconnect has reached a level that even the "Queen of Soul," Aretha Franklin, would find baffling.

While thousands of residents navigate a Medicaid and SNAP system plagued by backlogs, a St. Croix Sun investigation—grounded in public records and staff inquiries—has confirmed that the "gatekeepers" are back at their terminals.

The Flouted Barricade

On January 29, 2026, Magistrate Judge Yolan Brow-Ross issued a direct judicial order barring all 11 defendants in the $309,000 "SNAP Arrest" fraud case from visiting the DHS office in Frederiksted. The order was designed to protect the integrity of government computer systems that were allegedly "intentionally misused" to override eligibility safeguards.

However, Sun inquiries have verified that Lisaminelli Montanez, an Eligibility Information Clerk charged with multiple felonies including Embezzlement and Accessing a Computer for Fraudulent Purposes, remains active at the Mars Hill office.

A Two-Tier Justice System?

The confirmation of Montanez’s continued presence raises a "Yikes" moment for territorial oversight:

The Loophole: While Medicaid (MAP) employees were reportedly sidelined, SNAP staff like Montanez appear to have slipped through the cracks.
The Legal Edge: Montanez is notably the only defendant in the group to have retained private counsel, while her co-defendants rely on court-appointed attorneys.
The Union Shield: Membership in USW Local 8248 may be providing a procedural umbrella that allows indicted staff to stay on the payroll, but a union contract cannot override a Superior Court order.

Phoning it in from St. Thomas?

The question for Commissioner Averil George is simple: Is the department "phoning it in" from St. Thomas while the court’s orders are openly flouted in St. Croix? If an embezzlement suspect is the one answering the public's calls, the "Decision Space" for the St. Croix taxpayer has become a hall of mirrors.

The Sole Survivor of the Search

Perhaps the most damning evidence of the DHS’s administrative paralysis is found in the government’s own transparency data. A comprehensive search of the Virgin Islands Division of Personnel’s 2026 Employee Database for the surname "Montanez" across all executive departments yields a singular result. There is only one Lisaminelli Montanez listed on the public payroll—serving as an Eligibility Information Clerk I within the Department of Human Services at a salary of $37,015.00.

There are no namesakes to hide behind, and no clerical errors to blame. The woman whom the Superior Court specifically ordered to stay away from the Mars Hill office is the same woman verified by Sun inquiries to be still answering the phone. It is a "Yikes" moment that confirms the "musical question" of the night: In the territory’s battle against internal fraud, the government isn't just zoomin' the public—it has completely lost the lead.

Actual **Facebook post** by DHS Communications Director **Ryan Nugent** tonight on social media.

The DHS Response: ‘Two Different Individuals’

Late Tuesday evening, following inquiries from the St. Croix Sun, DHS Communications Director Ryan Nugent issued a formal statement attempting to clarify the presence of a "Montanez" at the Mars Hill facility.

"Lisaminelli Montanez has not been on Mars Hill's premises since the day of her arrest," Nugent stated in an email at 7:55 p.m. He claimed that the individual who answered the phone and identified herself as "Montanez" is actually a "new volunteer worker." Nugent further insisted that the department has not violated any court orders or restrictions, asserting that the defendant and the worker are "two different individuals."

The ‘Elon’ Factor

Even Elon Musk, who is currently wrestling with "technology monastery" logistics for SpaceX's 2026 IPO, knows that you can't run a complex system if the people accused of hacking the code are still the ones holding the passwords. He’d likely call this a "total system error." Until Commissioner George or the DOJ addresses this "Mars Hill Loophole," the only thing the public can be sure of is that the "zoom" is on them.