A 35-year-old former court manager in the Free State has been sentenced in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on charges of fraud and money laundering.
Gaobuse Desmond Mokhobo was convicted on charges of fraud, money laundering, and contravention of Section 4(1) of RICA, Act 70 of 2000.
He was arrested by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as Hawks).
The provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Christopher Singo said Mokhobo’s crime took place during 2019.
“The Department of Justice became suspicious of fraud involving third-party funds at the Zastron Magistrate’s Court. They then reported the matter to the Hawks' Serious Corruption Investigation team in Bloemfontein for further investigation.
“It was discovered that the accused, who was employed at Zastron Magistrate’s Court, would make deposits into the bank account of his partner using the credentials of another court official. As a result, the Department of Justice was prejudiced and suffered a loss of R300,000,” Singo said.
Mokhobo was subsequently sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for fraud, six years of which were suspended for five years on condition that he is not found guilty of fraud during the period of suspension.
He was further sentenced to five years direct imprisonment for money laundering and five years direct imprisonment for contravention of Section 4(1) of RICA, Act 70 of 2000.
The court ordered all sentences to run concurrently.
Mokhobo will effectively serve seven years imprisonment.
The court also declared him unfit to possess a firearm.
On Thursday, a police officer and four petrol attendants are expected to appear in the Reitz Magistrate’s Court on charges of fraud, theft, and defeating the ends of justice.
The group is alleged to have prejudicing the South African Police Service (SAPS) out of nearly R50,000.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
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