Taxing punishment: Brothers get long jail terms for defrauding Sars of R1.5m

Two brothers convicted of defrauding the South African Revenue Service (Sars) 11 years ago have each been sentenced to 10 years in jail.

June, 46, and his brother, Godfrey Maphanga, 45, were sentenced in the Nelspruit Regional Court on Tuesday.

Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Sekgotodi said the Maphangas were convicted of fraud, money laundering, forgery and uttering.

“In May 2009, the Maphanga brothers, who were owning a construction company, defrauded Sars by submitting false tax returns totalling R1,548,119.19.

“The matter was reported to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit in 2009 and the suspects were arrested and charged with 33 counts of fraud and money laundering, among others,” Sekgotodi said.

Head of the Hawks in Mpumalanga Major General Zodwa Mokoena has welcomed the sentence handed down by the court.

“We are encouraged that even after such a long time the investigation team and judiciary made sure the two brothers were punished for their criminal activities.

“We hope that this sentence will send a good message to would-be fraudsters that the long arm of the law will eventually catch up with them,” said Mokoena.

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