Former Eskom employee sentenced to 10 years for R1.8 million fraud - IOL

Former Eskom employee Cinderella Thabisile Muropane has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of fraud linked to payments that cost Eskom about R1.8 million

A former Eskom employee has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in a fraud scheme that cost the power utility about R1.8 million.

Cinderella Thabisile Muropane was sentenced by the Nelspruit court on Thursday after being convicted on multiple counts of fraud.

The case followed an investigation by the Hawks' Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit in Middelburg into fraudulent invoices and payments linked to Mandla Lines CC.

According to the Hawks, Mandla Lines CC, owned by David Mthetwa, had been contracted by Eskom on a live-work basis from April 2012 to March 2013. However, the company’s last legitimate work order was issued on May 2, 2012.

The Hawks said Mandla Lines CC did not perform any further work for Eskom after that. Instead, another contractor carried out the work and was paid by the utility.

"Despite this, fraudulent invoices were allegedly generated in the name of Mandla Lines CC from Eskom’s Nelspruit offices, resulting in payments being processed into the company’s bank account for work it had not performed," the Hawks said.

"The fraudulent transactions ultimately caused Eskom to suffer a financial loss of approximately R1.8 million".

Muropane was employed by Eskom at its Nelspruit offices at the time of the fraud.

She was convicted of several counts of fraud.

The court sentenced her to 10 years’ imprisonment on counts one to 16, while she received seven-year sentences on counts 17 to 55 and counts 56 to 94.

The sentences will run concurrently, meaning Muropane will serve an effective 10 years in prison.

Mpumalanga Hawks provincial head Major-General Nico Gerber welcomed the sentence.

He said the case demonstrated the consequences faced by people who abuse positions of trust to facilitate the unlawful loss of public funds.

“Public money is not a personal purse, and positions of trust must never be turned into platforms for fraud,” Gerber said.

He said the Hawks would continue investigating cases involving the manipulation of systems, falsification of transactions and the diversion of public resources.

"The message from the Hawks is clear: abusing a position of trust to steal or facilitate the unlawful diversion of public funds carries serious consequences."