COUPLE SENTENCED FOR DEFRAUDING THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR
The Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sitting in Palm Ridge, sentenced Refilwe Kgaje(40), to 3 years imprisonment for fraud and a further 15 years imprisonment for fraud which is suspended for five years, Isaac Phiri (45), is sentenced to 15 years direct imprisonment for fraud the sentences are to run concurrently.
Kgaje and her company, Pusoloso Engineering Services, were charged with two counts of fraud and a fine of R100 000.
On 12 August 2020 to 24 March 2021, in Johannesburg, the accused did unlawfully, submit the names of 95 employees who were not working for Pusoloso Engineering Services to the Department of Labour. The accused made an application to the Department of Labour, on behalf of the fictitious employees they sent to benefit from the Temporary Employer/ Employee Relief Scheme (TEFS) during the Covid-19 pandemic. This was done under false representation, to defraud the Department of Labour.
The Department paid an amount of over R600 000, to a bank account which belonged to Phiri. The funds were not due to Phiri for distribution amongst the employees and were not supposed to be deposited into his bank account. The accused handed themselves over to the police after one of the employees they used wanted to register for the R350.00 Covid relief grant, and the system picked that they work for the Pusoloso Engineering Services. The individual went to open a case, and that is when the Department of Labour began investigations. Responding to the lockdown strategy, the department triggered the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) categorised as the Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) to alleviate the plight of employees caused by Covid 19.
In arguing for a strict sentence State Advocate Vincent Ndzuke, argued that when the court hands down a sentence, it must fit the criminal and the crime and must not underemphasise the seriousness of the offence. If too lenient sentences are imposed for serious offences, this will erode the confidence the public has in the criminal justice system.
The NPA extends its gratitude to State Adv. Vincent Ndzuke and Investigating Officer Tlou Nailana, for ensuring that justice is served. We welcome the sentence and hope that this will send a clear message to the public that crimes of this nature will not be tolerated.
