Pretoria - The Nelspruit Commercial Crimes Court has convicted Bundu Lodge owner Albert Sibusiso Tshabalala, aged 42, on three counts of fraud, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Tuesday.
Tshabalala was charged together with his wife, Ntombizodwa Katlego Tshabalala and their company, Chuma Investments on four counts of fraud and four counts of money laundering.
“However, Katlego was found not guilty on all charges. Sibusiso and the company, Chuma Investments were convicted on three counts of fraud amounting to over R150 000,” said NPA Mpumalanga provincial spokesperson Monica Nyuswa.
She said in August 2016, Sibusiso submitted four invoices to Bundu Lodge purporting to have been issued by Isizwe Chartered Accountants. The couple did not own the lodge at the time. Isizwe Chartered Accountants was at the time auditing the financial records of Bundu Lodge.
“The banking details of Isizwe were changed to that of Chuma Investments and Bundu Lodge paid these invoices believing that they were payments for Isizwe Chattered Accountants,” said Nyuswa.
In 2018, the NPA said Maqhinga Zulu, the owner of Isizwe Chartered Accountant discovered that invoices were issued under the name of his accounting firm but paid to a third party. He then contacted the then owner of Bundu Lodge, Willem Janson who reported the matter to the police.
Following investigation, the couple was arrested.
“The State Advocate, Henry Nxumalo led evidence of five witnesses, including a chartered accountant and the owner of Isizwe Chattered Accountants, whose business letterheads were used to defraud Willem Janson, the then owner of Bundu Lodge. A bookkeeper at Bundu Lodge testified that she effected payments believing that these were payments to Isizwe Chattered Accountants,” said Nyuswa.
“The court found that the State proved beyond reasonable doubt that Tshabalala created and submitted these invoices in order to defraud Willem Janson/Bundu Lodge and that both Bundu Lodge and Isizwe Chattered Accountants suffered prejudice as a result of Sibusiso Tshabala’s actions.”
Nyuswa said the matter was postponed to November 5 for Tshabalala’s sentencing.
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