By REGINALD KANYANE
Former Finance Manager at Customer Loyalty Consultant (PTY) Ltd, Prishne Khan (37), was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by the Pretoria Specialized Commercial Crimes Court for fraud. This resulted in the losses exceeding R3 million.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson in Gauteng, Lumka Mahanjana said in addition to this, Khan received a further 4-year imprisonment for theft amounting to R350 000, with the court ordering that these sentences run concurrently.
“The court heard that Khan was employed as a bookkeeper at Northern Cricket Union from June 2015 to 18 January 2017, with responsibilities that included processing payments for various service providers.
“Instead of executing her duties honestly, she altered banking details on multiple invoices, replacing them with those of her husband and cousin and misappropriated R350 000 over six weeks from May to June 2016,” she said.
Mahanjana said when questioned about her actions, Khan resigned from her position. She further said following her resignation, Khan became the finance manager at Customer Loyalty Consultant (PTY) Ltd from 9 March 2017 until 30 September 2017.
“This role provided her with access to the company’s bank account and banking systems. During her employment, Khan again manipulated customer banking details to funnel payments into accounts controlled by her husband and cousin.
“Despite her ability to process payments, she could not execute them immediately due to a token needed, which was the responsibility of another employee. After leaving the company in September 2017, another employee provided her with the token, allowing her to release payments totalling more than R3 million to herself from September 2017 until March 2018,” said Mahanjana.
She added that the fraudulent activities came to light when the bank alerted the company about suspicious transactions. Mahanjana said subsequent investigations by the police led to Khan’s first court appearance on 31 May 2018.
“In court, she pleaded guilty to the charges and attributed her criminal conduct to financial difficulties, claiming she needed the money for essentials, including purchasing a motor vehicle for her husband.
“However, evidence in the pre-sentence report revealed that she had used the stolen funds for gambling. During sentencing proceedings, Khan sought leniency based on her responsibilities towards her three minor children aged 6, 12, and 15, and cited ill health as factors in her favour,” she said.
Mahanjana said the NPA welcomed the ruling and reaffirmed its commitment to holding offenders accountable for commercial crimes. She said this case serves as a reminder that the NPA is dedicated to prosecuting fraud and maintaining integrity within financial dealings in South Africa.
In response, the state prosecutor, Advocate Pulane Segalo, argued that Khan had committed serious offences, emphasizing that she had betrayed the trust of her employers for personal gain. Segalo urged the court to impose a sentence of direct imprisonment to reflect the gravity of her actions.
“The matter was postponed to 3 March 2023, for the judgment on the sentence. However, Khan absconded, leading to a warrant for her arrest. Over a year later, on 30 August 2024, she was located hiding in a freezer at her new home in Nigel, leading to her arrest and court appearance yesterday,” she said.
Meanwhile, when delivering the sentence, Magistrate Du Preez agreed with the state, stating that Khan’s actions were motivated by greed rather than necessity. Du Preez said he noted that Khan did not demonstrate genuine remorse.
“She pleaded guilty only due to the realization of the consequences of her actions. Consequently, the court determined that the only suitable sentence in these circumstances was imprisonment,” she said.
The Guardian 