Fraud Allegations: 25-year-old accused of swindling municipality out of R424,000

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A 25-year-old woman has been charged with fraud, allegedly fraudulently obtaining approximately R424,000 from the Emfuleni local municipality.

On Monday, the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court denied her bail, reflecting the seriousness of the charges against her.

Janitha van Reenen Coetzee is accused of presenting herself as an independent agent capable of helping residents secure discounts on their overdue municipal accounts.

The National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana, stated that victims would allegedly give her money to facilitate discounted payments to the municipality on their behalf.

“However, the funds were allegedly never paid over to the municipality. The accused also allegedly submitted claims to the municipality on behalf of the victims,” she added.

According to Mahanjana, it is claimed that the municipality disbursed a significant sum of around R424,000 to the accused.

However, this amount was purportedly not directed to the intended beneficiaries, raising concerns regarding financial mismanagement and accountability within municipal operations.

Slain municipality employee uncovered fraud

The alleged fraud in the Emfuleni local municipality was uncovered by the former financial officer, Martha Mani Rantsofu, who has since died. She detected suspicious claims totaling R424,000 and subsequently informed her manager about the issue.

Mahanjana revealed that, after conducting an internal investigation by the municipality, the matter was reported to the police.

The accused was arrested on 20 May and later appeared before the same court, where she made a formal application for bail.

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“The State, represented by Prosecutor Moses Raditsela, opposed the bail application and argued that the accused was likely to interfere with State witnesses and posed a flight risk, as her residential address could not be properly verified.

“The State further argued that her release would not be in the interests of justice. In his ruling, Magistrate Mamburu agreed with the State’s submissions and found that it would not be in the interests of justice to release the accused on bail,” Mahanjana said.

Bail was denied in the case, and the proceedings have been postponed to Tuesday, 23 June, to allow for further investigation.