Another suspect arrested for alleged role in defrauding Nelspruit firm of R11.5m

A 45-year-old man, Jaco Meintjies, was arrested by the Hawks on Monday in connection with the more than R11.5m that was allegedly stolen from a Nelspruit company between 2010 and 2016.

According to the Hawks, the Mpumalanga man made his first appearance in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on fraud charges on the same day he was arrested.

Meintjies was released on R3,000 bail and would join six of his family members, who were arrested in 2019, for their alleged role in defrauding the company, Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Sekgotodi said.

Meintjies will join Carol Ann Avent, 46, Lucy Andrea du Preez, 50, John Avent, 53, Piet Albertus Meintjies, 36, Maria Antoinette le Roux, 49, and Kerry Anne Avent, 31, in the dock when the case goes to trial in May.

The Hawks have accused the seven suspects of defrauding an unnamed company of more than R11.5m through fictitious transactions initiated by Carol, a former bookkeeper at the company.

“Carol was arrested in 2016 and charged with 1,150 counts of fraud. She was subsequently released on R5,000 bail and pleaded guilty in November 2019 and her case was postponed to February 13, 2020,” Sekgotodi said.

“Hawks investigations revealed she had apparently diverted the funds to her family members’ accounts.

“Other family members were arrested and added to Carol Ann Avent’s case and was also granted R3,000 bail each in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court.”

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