{"id":106480,"date":"2025-03-27T09:53:30","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T07:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/elderly-couple-jailed-for-exploiting-bank-glitch-to-steal-us34000"},"modified":"2025-04-04T14:53:50","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T12:53:50","slug":"elderly-couple-jailed-for-exploiting-bank-glitch-to-steal-us34000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/elderly-couple-jailed-for-exploiting-bank-glitch-to-steal-us34000","title":{"rendered":"Elderly Couple Jailed For Exploiting Bank Glitch To Steal US$34,000"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>An elderly couple from Bulawayo, Frank Sibanda and his wife, Francisca Netsai, both 65, were sentenced to seven years in prison on March 26, 2025, for embezzling over US$30,000 from Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n

Due to a technical glitch, the bank mistakenly deposited the funds into Francisca\u2019s account, and the couple exploited the error, withdrawing US$34,110.47 and spending it on extravagant shopping trips in Zimbabwe and South Africa.<\/p>\n

The couple was convicted on 47 counts of theft, and the court suspended four years of their sentence for five years on the condition of no similar offences.<\/p>\n

The remaining three years are suspended if they repay the stolen amount to the bank by June 20.<\/p>\n

In her ruling, Bulawayo regional magistrate Dambudzo Malunga said that the court considered their advanced age, Francisca\u2019s health problems, and their responsibility for their six-year-old grandchild, and the fact that they are first-time offenders, in reducing the sentence. She said:
\nYou committed a very serious offence, prejudicing Stanbic Bank of a substantial sum. However, the court has tempered justice with mercy in the interest of fairness.<\/p>\n

The Sibandas\u2019 lawyer, Jabulani Ndubiwa of Mashayamombe and Company Attorneys, argued for a non-custodial sentence due to Francisca\u2019s health complications and their caregiving responsibilities.<\/p>\n

The couple\u2019s crime was discovered during a routine audit by Stanbic Bank. The bank noticed some strange transactions in their records, which led to an investigation and the couple\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n

The story started on February 5 2024, when Francisca opened a bank account at Stanbic Bank in Bulawayo.<\/p>\n

Her daughter, Rudo, lied about Francisca working for a company in Harare to help open the account. Francisca was then given a Visa card linked to the account.<\/p>\n

On April 5, Francisca tried to make a purchase for about US$17.95 at a store in Bulawayo, but the transaction didn\u2019t go through.<\/p>\n

However, due to a mistake during the bank\u2019s process, Francisca\u2019s account was wrongly credited with more than US$40,000 (US$40,850.86) instead of the correct amount.<\/p>\n

Realising the mistake, the couple decided to spend the money. Between April 30 and May 1, they withdrew US$2,025 in cash from Stanbic Bank in Bulawayo and spent US$32,085.47 in South Africa.<\/p>\n

They went on shopping trips to places like Sandton and Maboneng, known for their markets and trendy spots.<\/p>\n

The bank later noticed the irregular transactions and reported it to the police. After investigating, the couple was arrested. In total, they stole US$34,110.47, and the money was never recovered.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. An elderly couple from Bulawayo, Frank Sibanda and his wife, Francisca Netsai, both 65, were sentenced to seven years in prison on March 26, 2025, for embezzling over US$30,000 from Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe. Due to a technical glitch, the bank mistakenly deposited the funds into Francisca\u2019s account, and the couple exploited the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":106479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[18281,1568,1569,4094,19],"class_list":["post-106480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-elderly-couple","tag-stanbic-bank","tag-stanbic-bank-zimbabwe","tag-theft","tag-zimbabwe"],"yoast_head":"\nElderly Couple Jailed For Exploiting Bank Glitch To Steal US$34,000 - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An elderly couple from Bulawayo, Frank Sibanda and his wife, Francisca Netsai, both 65, were sentenced to seven years in ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/elderly-couple-jailed-for-exploiting-bank-glitch-to-steal-us34000\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Elderly Couple Jailed For Exploiting Bank Glitch To Steal US$34,000\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An elderly couple from Bulawayo, Frank Sibanda and his wife, Francisca Netsai, both 65, were sentenced to seven years in ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/elderly-couple-jailed-for-exploiting-bank-glitch-to-steal-us34000\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-27T07:53:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-04T12:53:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2025\/03\/sm_1743057144.334825.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"402\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/elderly-couple-jailed-for-exploiting-bank-glitch-to-steal-us34000#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/elderly-couple-jailed-for-exploiting-bank-glitch-to-steal-us34000\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Elderly Couple Jailed For Exploiting Bank Glitch To Steal US$34,000\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-27T07:53:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-04T12:53:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/elderly-couple-jailed-for-exploiting-bank-glitch-to-steal-us34000\"},\"wordCount\":426,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/elderly-couple-jailed-for-exploiting-bank-glitch-to-steal-us34000#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2025\/03\/sm_1743057144.334825.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Elderly Couple\",\"Stanbic Bank\",\"Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe\",\"Theft\",\"Zimbabwe\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/elderly-couple-jailed-for-exploiting-bank-glitch-to-steal-us34000#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/elderly-couple-jailed-for-exploiting-bank-glitch-to-steal-us34000\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/elderly-couple-jailed-for-exploiting-bank-glitch-to-steal-us34000\",\"name\":\"Elderly Couple Jailed For Exploiting Bank Glitch To Steal US$34,000 - 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