Cape Town – A former accounting clerk who defrauded her employer out of more than R1 million has been granted bail in the Gqeberha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
According to the provincial spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Captain Yolisa Mgolodela, Simone de Klerk, 38, was arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team on Wednesday on numerous charges of fraud.
Mgolodela said De Klerk was employed as an accounting clerk at the East Cape Midlands College from October 2014 to March 2022 and in terms of the Public Service Act she misappropriated funds from the institution.
“It is reported that De Klerk substituted bank account numbers of the college creditors with her own bank account number when batch payments were made to the creditors. It is alleged that the fraudulent conduct was picked up by the finance department when a split payment was made to one of the creditors,” Mgolodela said.
She said when it was realised that fraud was taking place, a complaint was lodged with the Hawks and an intensive investigation began in April 2022.
“The Hawks investigation revealed that the college was prejudiced by cash to the value of more than R1m,” Mgolodela said.
The court released De Klerk on bail.
The matter has been postponed until September 27.