Durban - A Hilton mother-of-three and former teacher at the prestigious Cowan House school appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday charged with 73 counts of defrauding the school of more than R2 million.
Vindra (Vinny) Jaickaran, 47, allegedly defrauded Cowan School of R2 099 290 during the period September 2013 to September 2015.
According to investigating officer Brad Swift of the Commercial Crimes Unit, who drafted an affidavit in the case, Jaickaran is alleged to have submitted false invoices for payment to the school, where she was employed at the time.
Cowan House made payments of these fraudulent invoices into bank accounts held in Jaickaran’s name.
Other payments were made into accounts to which Jaickaran had links.
Swift said Jaickaran, who was the IT teacher at the school, was currently unemployed after resigning from Cowan House following their discovery of the fraud.
According to evidence led in court on Thursday, Jaickaran, who is represented by advocate Shane Matthews, is in the process of selling her home in Hilton to compensate Cowan House.
Matthews said while Jaickaran had no previous convictions, he mentioned to the court that she was convicted of shoplifting in 1998, although this conviction was later set aside. He also put on record that Jaickaran was currently seeking treatment for depression at a local clinic.
Jaickaran was granted bail of R10 000 subject to strict conditions, which included her reporting to the Hilton police station once a week.
She will appear in court again on March 7, when the case will be transferred to the Durban Commercial Crimes Court.
Parents at Cowan House took to social media to vent anger over her fraud, also expressing shock that she had allegedly conned her pupils and colleagues into thinking she had cancer with only three months to live. According to parents, they had hosted fundraisers for her treatment.
Daily News