Cape Town - An Eastern Cape man has been sentenced in the Gqeberha specialised commercial crimes court on numerous counts of fraud and money laundering and ordered to pay back the funds involved.
Heinrich Presensie, aged 36, was given 36 months correctional supervision and instructed to pay back R503 132 to Capitec Bank, provincial spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) Captain Yolisa Mgolodela said in a statement on Wednesday.
Presensie also received a five year suspended sentence.
Between August 2016 and February 2013, 13 loans worth R1.5 million were taken out of the bank’s Graaff-Reinet branch. Presensie’s alleged accomplice Ashley Le Roux is said to have manufactured false documentation used to obtain the loans on behalf of the pair’s clients.
The duo would receive a commission for every loan processed.
According to Mgolodela, most of the clients were not aware of the fraudulent processes taking place, including the fact that Presensie and partner were pocketing a larger share of the loans. The clients complained to Capitec when they started receiving statements from the bank reflecting larger loans than they believed they had taken out.
“The matter was reported to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation (unit) in Gqeberha for further handling which led to the subsequent arrest of the accused on February 12, 2019. They appeared in court and were released on warning,” Mgolodela said.
In June this year, Presensie pleaded guilty to all charges while Le Roux opted to take the matter to trial. The matter against Le Roux has been postponed to September 8 for a trial date.
African News Agency (ANA)