A 44-year-old man who defrauded his employer of more than R2 million has been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
Three years of the sentence are suspended for five years, on the condition that he does not commit fraud or theft during that period.
Fraud
Jans Daniel Naude, a former manager at Fanatics Trading (Pty) Ltd, appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday, where the sentence was handed down.
Naude was convicted on 23 counts of fraud. The court also declared him unfit to possess a firearm.
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Guilty
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said that in court, Naude pleaded guilty and admitted committing the offences after feeling aggrieved at being overlooked for a promotion.
“Through his legal representative, he sought a non-custodial sentence, citing that he was a first-time offender and the primary caregiver to his two minor children.
“However, State Advocate Lerato Phoebe Labuschagne opposed a lenient sentence, stressing the seriousness of the offences and the gross abuse of trust. She informed the court that the financial prejudice suffered by the company was so severe that it had to borrow money to pay employees’ salaries and urged the court to impose a sentence that would send a strong deterrent message,” Mahanjana said.
Sentence
In handing down a sentence, Magistrate Ignatius du Preez found that Naude failed to demonstrate genuine remorse and pleaded guilty only because the State had a strong case against him.
The court further noted that Naude did not take the court into his confidence by disclosing what he did with the stolen funds. Du Preez concluded that a custodial sentence was appropriate under the circumstances.
According to the NPA, Naude was employed as the Technical and Production Manufacturing Facilities Manager from 2014 until February 2024 at Fanatics Trading (Pty) Ltd, a company involved in food manufacturing and meat and poultry processing.
Fake invoices
Mahanjana said his responsibilities included ordering bulk stock from suppliers, including chicken products.
“Between 12 August 2016 and 12 January 2022, Naude created fraudulent invoices and delivery notes purportedly from Federated Meats and substituted the supplier’s legitimate banking details with those of his personal First National Bank (FNB) account. As a result, payments exceeding R2 million were unlawfully diverted into his personal account.”
Audit
She said the fraud was uncovered when senior management at Fanatics Trading detected irregular and excessive stock purchases.
“An independent auditing firm was appointed, and following the audit findings, the matter was reported to the South African Police Service. Naude was subsequently summoned to appear in court.”
Mahanjana said the NPA welcomes the sentence.
“It affirms that those who abuse positions of trust for personal gain will be held accountable. The sentence serves as a clear warning that white-collar crime is not victimless and will be met with decisive prosecutorial action.”
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