PORT ELIZABETH - WHOLESALER ADMINISTRATOR GETS 7 YEAR JAIL SENTENCE FOR COMMITTING FRAUD WORTH R2 MILLION

A former administration clerk at a wholesaler, Rochanda Lyn Leander (34), received a seven year direct imprisonment sentence for R2 million fraud at the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday 04 March 2020.

Leander misappropriated funds by submitting fictitious invoices and uploading banking details of her alleged accomplices for payment purposes.

She used the financial proceeds for personal gain and allegedly shared them with her accomplices, namely Leeroy Bezuidenhout (29) and Bernadette Patrizia Hendricks (45). It is further alleged that she conducted the crime in collaboration with her colleague, Megan Brooks (35), who was also employed as an administration clerk.

The fraud was reported to the Serious Commercial Crime Investigation of the Hawks in April 2018 and as a result of a thorough probe Brooks, Leander, Bezuidenhout and Hendricks were arrested during January last year.  Leander pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud on the 10th of June 2019.

Meanwhile the remaining three suspects, Brooks, Bezuidenhout and Hendricks will appear at the same court on 04 June 2020.

via - SAPS