Boksburg multi-million fraudster to be sentenced in December
Steenkamp's lawyer has called for a lenient sentence and a just and fair term of imprisonment.
Fraudster Hildegard Steenkamp of Cinderella, Boksburg, reappeared in court on October 16 for the third and final day ahead of her sentencing in a multi-million rand fraud case.
Following closing arguments from the State attorney Advocate Tilas Chabalala and Steenkamp’s defence lawyer Advocate Francois Roets on Monday, Magistrate Phillip Venter said the sentencing date is December 8.
The 50-year-old stole over R537m from her former employer Medtronic (Pty) Ltd over 13 years while working as an accountant. Steenkamp pleaded guilty earlier this year to 336 charges related to the fraud.
The hearing resumed at the Johannesburg Commercial Crimes Court sitting in Palm Ridge after a two-month break.
Much of the day in court centred around submissions by the State in aggravation of sentencing and the defence seeking mitigation of sentence.
During the final day of submissions, Chabalala said the accused must get a harsh sentence of not less than 25 years.
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He argued Steenkamp is not remorseful for her actions and that there is nothing to prove her initial claim that her late husband, Mathys Steenkamp, was abusive and compelled her to commit the thefts.
Steenkamp had said this in the dock in mitigation of sentence on August 14.
However, the court heard that Steenkamp continued stealing substantial amounts of money even after her former husband died, including over R6.6m on November 24, 2016.
Chabalala said the thief was motivated by greed. “The accused was arrested in December 2017. If she was truly remorseful, she would not have waited more than five years to plead guilty to the charges.”
In his final submissions, Roets, Steenkamp’s lawyer, called for a lenient sentence and a just and fair term of imprisonment that will not leave the accused ‘broken and hopeless’.
He argued Steenkamp is a first-time offender and an unemployed parent and that the jail term will subject her to an overcrowded prison with grim conditions that violate the rights of offenders in the country.
ALSO READ: Boksburg multi-million fraudster claims abusive husband forced her to do it
