PORT ELIZABETH - DA COUNCILLORS WIFE PLEADS GUILTY TO THEFT OF CLOSE TO R900 000

Port Elizabeth – A former estate agent and wife of a DA councillor pleaded guilty in the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court on Friday to theft involving close on R900 000.

Forty-three-year old Yvette Greyling, the founder and manager of Just Letting in Uitenhage, cut a forlorn figure in the dock on Friday. Her husband, Francois, is a DA councillor for the Despatch area.

Greyling is accused of stealing R880 150.23 from her clients’ rental accounts between 2013 and 2014.

Legal aid attorney Anlen Murray read out Greyling’s guilty plea on Friday which indicated that she was not entitled to act as an estate agent as fidelity fund certificates were not issued to her since January 2014.

The plea further indicated that during 2013 and 2014 the business was experiencing cash flow problems.

“I started to transfer funds from the “deposit” trust account to the other accounts of [Just Letting] in order to pay over rentals and other debts,” she stated in her plea.

In her plea it stated that Greyling was the only person with access to the bank accounts and the only person who could effect inter-account transfers.

In November 2014, the Just Property Group took over the administration of Just Letting in Uitenhage. After the take-over, an investigation was done and a shortage of R880 150.23 was found in the deposit trust account.

The case was postponed to March 3 for sentencing.

VIA - iol.co.za