The Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court has ordered 31-year-old Pretty Sambo to pay back the R22 500 she fraudulently received from the South African Revenue Service (Sars). Photo: Supplied/Hawks
Pretoria: The Nelspruit Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Wednesday ordered 31-year-old Pretty Sambo to pay back R22 500 to the South African Revenue Service (Sars) after she was convicted of fraud.
Last month, Sambo was remanded in custody by the court, after she was arrested and added as the seventh accused person by the Hawks serious commercial crime investigation unit in Nelspruit for fraud, theft and alternatively the contravention of the provisions of the Tax Administration Act.
Mpumalanga spokesperson for the Hawks Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said Sambo was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, with the option of a R10 000 fine.
“Pretty Sambo, who received R22 500 from the South African Revenue Services into her bank account, was sentenced by the same court to R10 000 fine or two years’ imprisonment of which half R5 000 or 12 months imprisonment is suspended for five years on condition that she not be convicted on same charges of money laundering,” said Sekgotodi.
“(The court also ordered that) she pay back R22 500 to the South African Revenue Service.”
Of the R22 500, the court ordered Sambo to pay R5 000 immediately to Sars, and R500 to be paid in monthly instalments before or on the seventh of each month until the amount is pain in full.
Previously, the Hawks said it was alleged that in June 2017, the seven accused people including Sambo, submitted fraudulent tax returns and prejudiced Sars. The money received by Sambo was allegedly part of a total amount of R950 000 defrauded.
In February, the director of the firm Mpenyani CC in Mpumalanga, 39-year-old Lusufi Abednego Mabuza, and his company were found guilty of fraud and money laundering by the Nelspruit commercial crimes court for defrauding Sars of more than R400 000.
The court sentenced Mabuza to four years’ imprisonment while he and the company were also fined R50 000, Sekgotodi said at the time.
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