An attorney responsible for the administration of estates at Vapi Incorporated Attorneys in Mthatha has been sentenced to 15 years in jail.
The Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court handed down the prison sentence after Yandisa Babalwa Mjikelo, 36, pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud and four counts of money-laundering.
Mjikelo was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment on each of the charges, which will run concurrently.
The accused defrauded four estate accounts of amounts ranging between R128 000 and R1.4-million which were due to the beneficiaries of the deceased. The crimes were committed between June 2017 and October 2019.
The court heard that Mjikelo colluded with people unknown to the beneficiaries and opened accounts where the stolen money was deposited. She then made cash withdrawals from those accounts, deposited the money into other accounts, and effected electronic transfers, some in Bitcoin.
The families of the deceased approached the law firm’s director, Sifundo Vapi, who pressed charges at the local police station. Upon investigation, a number of transactions were made by the accused in a bid to hide the movement of the funds.
Mjikelo claimed to have been bewitched or influenced by the devil to commit the crimes.
Magistrate Shylock Ndengezi agreed with state advocate Neziswa September’s submission that there were no compelling circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence.
Barry Madolo, Eastern Cape director of public prosecutions, said the sentence was a clear indication that the National Prosecuting Authority is committed to deal with corruption-related cases with extra determination.
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