Pretoria - Lerato Patricia Mufamadi, 40, who is charged with theft and fraud totalling more than R15 million, has appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
Captain Lloyd Ramovha, the spokesperson for the Hawks in Gauteng, said Mufamadi allegedly stole the money from her employer, Mine and Metals Group-SA in Rosebank.
“Mufamadi, a former employee of Mine and Metals Group-SA (Pty) Limited, was an executive assistant and office administrator whose responsibilities included petty cash reconciliations and processing of supplier invoices,” Ramovha said.
“The Hawks’ serious commercial crime investigation has revealed that for a period of about five years, from May 2017 to October 2021, she fraudulently altered suppliers’ banking details to hers.
“Invoices were processed for payments that ended up in her bank account for self-gain. Her employer was prejudiced an amount of over R15 million as a result,” the Hawks said.
On Tuesday, the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court postponed the case until April 11, for a bail application. Mufamadi has been remanded in custody.
Last month, a 54-year-old woman was arrested at the OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park after she had been on the run since 2017. She was wanted for several cases of fraud and theft by false pretences in Limpopo and Gauteng.
“This after she allegedly defrauded a lot of unsuspecting job-seekers and persons aspiring to acquire nursing qualifications,” Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said at the time.
The woman allegedly ran bogus nursing colleges and fraudulently registered unsuspecting students, under the pretext that they were to acquire diplomas in nursing.
“The victims were also assured of employment across the province upon completion of their studies. The suspect’s fraudulent dealings were unmasked when it was eventually discovered that the colleges were not authentic,” Mojapelo said.
“The students immediately opened cases of fraud and theft under false pretences against the woman in Polokwane, Morebeng, Thohoyandou, Waterval and other places in Gauteng.”
Police said that after many cases had been opened, the woman evaded arrest and had been on the run since 2017, having fled to Nigeria.
“The breakthrough happened on Saturday, 10 March 2023, when detectives from Makhado received information about the wanted suspect returning to South Africa from Nigeria, and that she would be arriving at OR Tambo International Airport at midday,” Mojapelo said.
The detectives pounced on the woman when she arrived at the busy airport at midday.
IOL