A 44-year-old Pretoria woman has been arrested for her involvement in defrauding the Mantsopa Local Municipality in the Free State, with losses amounting to R255 289.69.
Pretoria woman due in court for defrauding Free State municipality – Here’s how she (allegedly) did it
According to police, the Hawks arrested the suspect after she impersonated a legitimate service provider, Project Pioneer Construction, to illicitly obtain municipal funds.
In a statement, Hawks spokesperson Captain Christopher Singo revealed that the Pretoria woman’s con was detected when the true service provider sought payment from the municipality.
Evidence collected thus far indicates that the woman posed as a representative from Project Pioneer Construction, in an email to the municipality’s budget manager, falsely claiming an outstanding invoice.
The budget manager, under the impression of settling a legitimate claim, sought approval from the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the payment.
“The payment was granted and the money transferred to a bank account provided by the bogus service provider,” Capt. Singo explained.
It was only days later that the con was unravelled, when “the legitimate service provider approached the municipality and requested the outstanding payment.”
“The Budget Manager then sent proof of payment to the service provider who realised that it was not their banking details and also queried the e-mail that was sent to the municipality by the bogus service provider. The municipality confirmed with the bank that they had paid money to the suspect,” the Hawks revealed.
Following the discovery, the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team in Bethlehem took over the case.
An inter-provincial manhunt was launched in search of the suspect and four years later, the woman was tracked down to a location in Pretoria.
A collaborative operation led by Pretoria North detectives, working in tandem with Bethlehem Hawks, culminated in the arrest of the 44-year-old woman, on Valentine’s Day.
The accused, whose identity remains unknown, faces multiple legal charges, including fraud, forgery, uttering, and money laundering.
When this article was published, the woman was due to appear before the Ladybrand Magistrates’ Court.
