Durban - A Durban couple who pleaded guilty to defrauding the KZN Blind and Deaf Society of R12 million will remain behind bars until they are sentenced.
Ruvanya Ramiah, 31, and Ayush Rambally, 32, pleaded guilty to fraud and theft respectively, in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday.
Natasha Kara, the provincial spokesperson for the NPA, said Ramiah pleaded guilty to 354 counts of fraud, amounting to over R12 million, while Rambally pleaded guilty to 79 counts of theft, amounting to approximately R1.7 million.
“In her plea, Ramiah stated that she was employed as a Finance Officer, at the KwaZulu-Natal Blind and Deaf Society from March 2012 to February 2019.
“Her duties included salary payments and general payments, and she had access to and control of the Society’s banking accounts.
“She said she committed the fraud by paying herself inflated salaries, twice and sometimes more times in the same month.
“She also created false payments to suppliers and fabricated evidence to support those payments.
“The money was going into her bank account and that of her husband (Rambally),” Kara said.
Rambally, in his plea, said that he took the money knowing very well that he was not entitled to it, as he was neither an employee nor a creditor of the Society.
“He admitted to being aware that his actions were unlawful and intended to permanently deprive the Society of the funds, which he would use for his and his wife’s purposes,” Kara said.
She said the pair were remanded in custody and the matter was adjourned to August 4 for pre-sentencing and correctional supervision reports.
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