Mpumalanga Hawks arrest four people for R11.5m fraud
Four people were arrested after they allegedly benefited from a fraud scheme involving R11.5m, Mpumalanga Hawks said this week.
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Lucy Andrea Du Preez, John Avent, Piet Albertus and Maria Antoinette le Roux were arrested on Thursday after allegedly receiving the money in their bank accounts, said Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Sekgotodi.
They appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on Friday on charges of fraud and theft. The accused were each granted R3 000 for bail.
The investigation stems from the case of 46-year-old Carol Ann Avent, who was employed as a bookkeeper in a Nelspruit-based company.
Sekgotodi said she allegedly created false beneficiaries and transferred company funds into different accounts belonging to her family members. This happened during the period 2010 and 2016, said Sekgotodi.
Carol Ann was arrested in 2016 and charged on 1 150 counts of fraud and was later released on R5 000 bail. She was found guilty but is yet to be sentenced, Sekgotodi said.
She will join her co-accused in the Nelspruit Regional Court on November 5.
Sekgotodi said more arrests were expected to follow before the next court appearance.
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