Johannesburg - Dianne De Beer, a 49-year-old bookkeeper, was found guilty on 44 charges of fraud worth R2.5 million and sentenced by the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court to 10 years’ direct imprisonment.
De Beer started working at Servopak Supplies Pta CC in 2015 as an accountant. She began committing the crimes in 2016, a year after starting her job. Her tasks included gathering supplier receipts, adding payments to the online banking system, and reconciling supplier accounts with supplier statements.
According to Lumka Mahanjana, regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, De Beer committed the offences from September 2016 until October 2019 by making 44 payments meant for suppliers into her own personal bank account.
“With the proceeds of the crime, she bought two vehicles: a BMW for herself and a Mini Cooper for her daughter. The rest of the money was spent on her daughter’s holiday in Bali, entertainment, as well as clothing and groceries from large known retailers.
“She was eventually caught after suppliers demanded their payments. After internal investigations by the company, she was reported to the police and warned to appear in court.”
She said De Beer pleaded guilty to all the charges and told the court she was remorseful for the actions, and she further asked for a non-custodial sentence.
“However, the magistrate found that De Beer only pleaded guilty because the State had a strong case against her and she had no defence for the charges.
“In aggravation, the State prosecutor asked the court to impose a custodial sentence because De Beer committed a serious offence over a period. She stole an average of R72 000 a month for three years; she was therefore motivated by greed since she was employed at the time of the offence.”
She added that the magistrate agreed with the State that De Beer had no regard for her employer as she used her knowledge about the company to steal.
“She stopped not because of her conscience, but because she was caught. Therefore, he found that a sentence of direct imprisonment was the only appropriate sentence.
“The BMW 3 Series bought with the proceeds of crime will be sold at auction after the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) of the NPA obtained a confiscation order valued at R70 000 in terms of section 18 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA),” said Mahanjana.
The Star