Man Found Guilty After R4.3m Covid19 Ters Funds Meant for Employers Accidentally Deposited Into His Account

• A 64-year-old man accidently received R4.7 million from Ters that was meant to be deposited into his employer's account
• Moreroa Moses Leso returned R4.6 million to the department and was found guilty of theft on Thursday 9 June
• The matter was postponed to Tuesday 14 June for sentencing and he claims he used R99 000 to pay off debts and buy food

PRETORIA - A man who received R4.7 million that was meant for his employer’s Unemployment Insurance Fund’s Covid-19 Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) funds was found guilty of theft on Thursday 9 June.

Moreroa Moses Leso who was employed as a bus driver at the time was found guilty of theft of more than R99 000 at the Pretoria specialised commercial crimes court. He allegedly used the money to pay off debts and buy food.

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The 64-year-old worked in Hammanskraal at the time and the company had applied for Ters funds for its 1,400 employees in 2020. The money was accidentally paid into Leso’s Capitec account rather than the company’s Standard Bank account, TimesLIVE reported.

National Prosecuting Authority Spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said after receiving the funds, Leso transferred R4 million into his daughter’s bank account for and kept the rest for his personal use.

Once the company discovered the money was paid into Leso’s account, he paid R4.6 million back to the department. He was later arrested and released on bail. The matter was postponed to Tuesday 14 June for sentencing, according to SowetanLIVE.

SA reacts to ruling

Social media users weighed in on the man being found guilty of theft:

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Motlhabane Beemane Arnold said:

“These judges...the NFSAS one and the UIF one are probably not from this country...they are so out of touch with reality in this country.”

Sbonelo Khe Faya wrote:

“Some employers kept these funds and never paid them to employees.”

Katiso Chauncy Nkoko posted:

“So Capitec didn't see the deposit of 4.7m into an ordinary account suspicious?”

Vusi Mashinini added:

“If millions come into my account, that makes it my money! It wouldn't be in my account if it wasn't my money.”

Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela says Sibongile Mani’s conviction is ‘curious’, SA reacts

In a related matter, Briefly News also reported former public protector Thuli Madonsela expressed her views on the case of Sibongile Mani. Mani spent more than R800 000 that was accidentally transferred to her from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

Madonsela said that she found the sentence of five years' imprisonment to be peculiar and compared Mani’s case to others. The former public protector said she knew of no other cases where an ‘erroneous recipient’ of money was jailed, according to TimesLIVE.

Source: Briefly News