Bookkeeper in court for suspected fraud

Embarked on a scheme to make fraudulent EFTs

A WOMAN, who allegedly stole almost R800 000 from her employer by fraudulent means after her promotion from receptionist to bookkeeper, appeared in court yesterday.

Charlene Kannemeyer, 34, appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Bellville before magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg.

She faces 226 counts of fraud, alternatively theft, but was not asked to plead. She was in the dock with the employer’s driver, Rasheed Juries, 52, who faces the same charges, but was also not asked to plead to them.

According to the charge sheet, Kannemeyer started as a receptionist with the company, SEP Thermal Solutions CC and, after a short course in bookkeeping, was promoted.

Her duties as bookkeeper included the payment of staff salaries by way of electronic fund transfers (EFTs) and the purchase of materials from service providers.

She also scrutinised written quotations and invoices, made monthly payments to service providers, ensured that taxes were paid to Sars and did the filing.

Due to the nature of her duties, she had access to the company’s bank account.

The prosecutor, senior State advocate Denzyl Combrink, alleges that she and Juries acted in common purpose when they embarked on a scheme to make fraudulent EFTs from the company’s bank account into her and Juries’s respective bank accounts. The amount involved is R774 672.

They are scheduled to appear in court again on December 8. – ANA