Durban — A 49-year-old fraudster has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for 93 counts of fraud.
KwaZulu-Natal Hawks spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo said on March 27, the Durban Regional Court sentenced Zakariya Vahed, 49, to 15 years direct imprisonment for 93 counts of fraud.
Vahed was arrested in October 2020 and released on R10 000 bail.
“He appeared in court several times until he pleaded guilty in August last year, hence he was sentenced today,” Mhlongo said.
He said between 2009 and 2019, Vahed was employed by the complainant as an accountant.
He fraudulently transferred cash from the company’s bank account to his personal account. As a result, the company suffered a financial loss of more than R7 million.
Mhlongo said a case of fraud was reported at Sydenham police station and the docket was allocated to Hawks members from Durban Serious Commercial Crime Investigation.
Earlier this month, sister publication the Sunday Tribune reported that Vahed had embezzled from a well-known Durban accounting practice to go on religious overseas trips.
When State prosecutor Surekha Marimuthu put it to Vahed during court proceedings that he went on 37 overseas holidays, including some religious travel, in the company of his wife, he said “yes”.
Vahed had appeared in the Durban Regional Court for the more than 90 theft and fraud-related charges he faced, to do with the money he stole from an Overport-based accounting firm, Desai Jadwat Incorporated, and defrauding some of its clients.
He had already pleaded guilty in the matter before Magistrate Sophie Reddy.
WhatsApp your views on this story at 071 485 7995.
Daily News