An elderly woman appeared alongside her daughter in the Nelspruit Magistrates Court, Mpumalanga, on Thursday for allegedly defrauding the South African Revenue Service (SARS) of over R90,000.
Mary Joyce Mlangeni, 67, and her daughter, Ntombizodwa Siphesihle Thompson, 34, are facing charges of fraud and contravening the Tax Administration Act.
“It is alleged that during March 2015, Mlangeni in her capacity as a sole member of the company called Lutshango Security and Trading submitted false information and fraudulent tax returns to SARS together with her daughter claiming tax returns through misrepresentation,” said Hawks provincial spokesperson, Warrant Officer Thandi Tshabalala.
Tshabalala said the duo allegedly submitted a claim amounting to R48 million but only R90,200 was paid into Lutshango Security and Trading FNB account.
She said Mlangeni was released on R5,000 bail while her daughter was granted R3,000 bail.
Their case was postponed to June 28, 2024.
Last week, IOL reported that a Mpumalanga man was sentenced to three years imprisonment after he was found guilty of SARS over R955,000.
Sipho Andrew Philane, 62, was found guilty of fraud, theft, money laundering, and contravening the provisions of the Tax Administration Act.
Mpumalanga provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Dineo Sekgotodi, said that during 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, Philane was the director of a company named Sipho Zethu Trading, which was solely registered for the purpose of defrauding SARS.
“The accused provided false information to the SARS PAYE (pay as you earn) tax credits through misrepresentation. The company claimed undue funds from the revenue service, prejudicing and causing an actual and potential loss to the amount of R955,307.56,” she said at the time.
Sekgotodi said the funds were paid into Sipho Zethu Trading business account and they were further diverted into other business bank accounts as well as Philane’s account.
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