Africa-Press – South-Africa. A chartered accountant’s plea for a fine instead of a prison sentence failed when the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sentenced him to an effective six years in prison for fraud, theft and money laundering in connection with Covid-19 relief funds.
Mark Jonathan Vorster, 45, was sentenced on Wednesday.
The magistrate sentenced him to six years for 11 counts of fraud, two years for theft and four years for money laundering worth more than R800 000. He ordered that the sentences be served concurrently, which means Vorster will only serve six years behind bars.
Gauteng National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said Vorster pleaded guilty to the charges and asked the court to impose a fine. He pointed out that he had paid back the money.
Mahanjana said: “Between April 2020 and August 2020, Vorster would apply for the Covid-19 TERS on behalf of his clients, and after receiving payouts, he would transfer the funds to his bank account.”
The Covid-19 Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme (TERS) was a fund the government set up during the Covid-19 pandemic to help companies pay their staff.
Mahanjana added:
“Vorster was arrested on 21 July 2021.”
In aggravation of Vorster’s sentence, the prosecutor asked the court to send Vorster to prison. He submitted that Vorster had betrayed the position of trust given to him.
The prosecutor added that the offences escalated to new levels at a time when the country’s economy was brought to its knees by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“When handing down the sentence, the magistrate said that even though Vorster paid back the balance of the stolen money with interest, he found that he did not show any true remorse as the money he used to pay back the stolen money was not out of his pocket,” Mahanjana said.
She added that Vorster only pleaded guilty to the charges because the State had an airtight case against him, and “he had no other choice than to concede defeat”.
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