Bookkeeper Accused of Defrauding UIF Charged With 32 Counts of Fraud and Sentenced to 135 Years

• Lindelani Gumede has been sentenced to 135 years in jail for stealing over R11 million from the UIF TERS fund
• Gumede posed as an employee of four Gauteng bakeries and acted alone when he filed the claims to the Department of Labour
• The National Prosecuting Authority said some of the sentences would run concurrently, which means Gumede will only spend 20 years behind bars

JOHANNESBURG – A bookkeeper who defrauded the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has been handed a 135-year jail sentence.

Lindelani Gumede stole in excess of R11 million and was sentenced by the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday, 18 August.

According to News24, Gumede was arrested in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, in August last year after a Hawks investigation uncovered that Gumede processed fraudulent claims to the Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) to the tune of over R11 million.

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Gumede made these fraudulent claims on behalf of four Gauteng bakeries, including Country Pies and LPG Clotilda, when he worked as an independent bookkeeper.

The bakeries didn’t submit applications for the TERS fund processed by the Department of Labour, which means Gumede acted alone in the perpetration of the crime. He could do so because his work as a bookkeeper meant he had access to all the bakeries’ credentials.

The National Prosecuting Authority's charge sheet indicated that Gumede pretended to be an employee of the companies he defrauded.

Gumede has been sentenced for 32 counts of fraud because Magistrate Brain Nemavhidi said Gumede unashamedly manipulated the COVID-19 measures intended to assist South Africans in need.

eNCA reported that though the 135-year sentence is substantial, NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonodwane announced that some of the sentences would be run concurrently, which means Gumede will only serve 20 years in prison.

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South Africans react

Some South Africans welcomed the jail sentence, while others pointed out that this sentence means nothing until the same happens to prominent politicians.

Here are some comments:

@Lez88182871 said:

“Not one person sent to prison for looting billions in Zondo report or VBS, this is selective justice.”

@Zama30162777 added:

“As long as anc thugs are not in jail, this is not worth our attention.”

@VSeeripat commented:

“This is a joke... most of our ministers are corrupt, whistleblowers have spoken, commissions held and yet they still walking free, pillaging this country even further... let alone all the murderers, rapists and thieves that roam freely, out on cheap bail.”

@mizzzidc Praised:

“Deserved. Next Zweli Mkhize.”

R1.2m fraudster handed 18-year prison sentence for stealing money from 81 students

Briefly News previously reported that Siyambonga Mhlakaza has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for fraud and money laundering after he confessed to being part of a scam that siphoned R1.2 million from Walter Sisulu University to his bank accounts.

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The money had originally been earmarked for staff salaries and to help financially disadvantaged students.

As a result, 81 students were affected, and some were forced to drop out of university due to financial challenges. Mhlakaza was sentenced to prison for money laundering and 81 counts of fraud.

Source: Briefly News