Former Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) employee Daniel Mthimkulu has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud and misrepresentation of his qualifications.
This after he misrepresented his credentials to Prasa by stating that he had earned a doctorate in engineering management from the Technische Universitat Munchen (Munich Technical University) in Germany.
He also lied that he had a master’s degree from the University of Witwatersrand.
As a result of the misrepresentation and fabricated CV, Prasa suffered prejudice as his annual salary was unduly hiked from R1.6-million as executive manager to heading the engineering services for a salary to the tune of R2.8-million.
On January 20, 2022, the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crime Court found the 49-year-old to be guilty. The same court handed down a sentence on Tuesday morning.
After his arrest in July 2015, Mthimkhulu was charged with nine counts, including fraud, uttering, and forgery.
In March 2024, the Johannesburg High Court attached both his immovable and movable properties in terms of the confiscation order of Section 18 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
The court has further ordered that Mthimkhulu pay R5.8-million to Prasa to recoup the proceeds of crime.
He has been sentenced to 15 years in jail on count one and six years in prison to be spent concurrently with 15 years in prison on counts four and eight.
It is the public’s expectation that the remaining state capture cases on the Hawks’ table would be resolved amicably, as this is one of the cases that has been resolved.
The National Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya, welcomed the sentence and applauded the hard work and efforts of the investigation and prosecution teams.
“This should serve as a lesson to would-be fraudsters that crime does not pay,” he said.
