Pay back stolen money, or serve 10 year behind bars-court orders

Crime/ 14 October 2022, 14:33pm / Staff Writer

Image used for illustrations purposes 

By Staff Writer: A 40-year-old Free State woman who stole R1.7 million from her employer has been ordered to pay back the money or serve a 10-year prison sentence.

Karina Nieuwoudt pleaded guilty to fraud and uttering in the Kroonstad Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday.

The court sentenced Nieuwoudt to seven years in prison for fraud and three years for uttering.
Both charges were suspended for five years on condition that she pays the R1.7 million back in full in monthly instalments of R15 900.

According to Free State Hawks spokesperson Captain Christopher Singo, Nieuwoudt’s former employer appointed an auditor to investigate the business’ books.
Singo said:

A preliminary investigation discovered that Nieuwoudt fraudulently paid an amount of more than R1 million into her own personal bank account from the company’s bank account.

She worked as a debit and credit clerk at the time of the incidents, which took place between 2017 and 2019.

Singo said the matter was then reported to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team in Bethlehem.