LIMPOPO – A 35-year-old Hoedspruit woman was sentenced to five years direct imprisonment for her involvement in fraud and theft of R1.6 million.
Annelize Holtzhausen appeared before the Polokwane Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday (April 20) where she was sentenced.
Provincial Hawks spokesperson Captain Matimba Maluleke said Holtzhausen was employed as the financial administration manager at the Zandspruit Homeowners Association NPC in Hoedspruit between January 28, 2019 and October 24, 2019 and was responsible for paying service providers for services rendered at the company.
Read more: Limpopo woman found guilty of R1.6 million fraud
“Instead of paying the service providers, the accused created fictitious claims and transferred the money from the company’s bank account into her personal bank account as if she was paying the service providers. Some of the stolen money was transferred into her husband’s bank account,” his statement read.
Holtzhausen’s fraudulent activities were discovered by the company auditors who opened a case of fraud and the case was investigated by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit.
“After conducting a thorough investigation, the accused was arrested at her home in Hoedspruit on February 24, 2021, and later released on R5 000 bail. The company suffered a loss of over R1,6 million. The accused was found guilty on 185 counts of theft on May 29, 2022,” he concluded.
