Johannesburg - Fugitive fraudster Lynda Bedier may be accused of swindling her employers out of R3.7 million, but investigators examining her case say that she has already gambled away most of it.
Bedier and her 21-year-old son, Jayson, made headlines this year when they fled Gauteng after allegedly defrauding her Germany-based equipment company over several months.
Forensic investigation firm IRS Investigations spent the past four months hunting for the pair after they were seen at a guest house in Port Elizabeth.
Private detectives made a breakthrough this week when the duo were apprehended after returning to Johannesburg.
According to IRS senior investigator Andre van Wyk, the pair had returned to Joburg by bus late on Saturday night and a tip-off came in earlier this week that they would be at the Karaglen Shopping Centre in Edenvale.
The pair were meeting a friend when Van Wyk and his team spotted them at the Wimpy, and the police were summoned to arrest them.
“I’m truly surprised they managed to hide out for so long. They really stand out,” he said. However, while it is understood that the authorities had managed to recover some of the money allegedly siphoned off by Bedier, Van Wyk said she had also been seen at the Boardwalk Casino in Port Elizabeth, where she had gambled large sums away.
It is also understood she was a regular at Emperor’s Palace in Boksburg where she might have spent money before absconding.
“We understand she may have blown about R2m on gambling,” Van Wyk said.
Bedier and her son appeared at the Germiston Regional Court on Wednesday, where their case was postponed to Thursday for a formal bail application.
It was also revealed to the State that the 56-year-old finance executive had already been convicted of fraud in 2001, though the full details surrounding that case are still unknown to IRS.
However, it was confirmed she had served a two-year prison sentence for the crime.
Bedier looks set to face multiple counts of fraud for each of her transactions, while her son is likely to be charged only as an accessory to the crime should the State find him fit for trial.
Bedier’s alleged crimes were reportedly only noticed after she had failed to arrive at work for several days and unusual payments were picked up on the company’s bank accounts, one of which saw the 56-year-old allegedly transfer R1.6 million in just a few minutes.
Van Wyk confirmed the pair had been seen on CCTV cameras at the Beachwalk B&B in Port Elizabeth, as well as by a photographer at a restaurant in the same city.