Three people, including two former Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) employees, were sentenced on Thursday for their roles in a ghost employee fraud scheme that cost the department approximately R3 million.
The Johannesburg Commercial Crimes Court, sitting at the Palm Ridge Magistrate Court, handed down sentences on 2 October following convictions for fraud, forgery and theft related to the creation and processing of payments for non-existent employees.
The first former employee received the harshest sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, with four years suspended, plus two additional six-year sentences to run concurrently. The second former employee was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment, while an external accomplice received a three-year sentence suspended for five years.
The fraudulent operation was exposed during an internal investigation, which revealed that seven employees from the Human Resources Unit at the Gauteng West District Office were implicated in the scheme. The fraud involved creating fictitious employees and processing salary payments for these non-existent workers.
Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane said the sentences reinforced the department’s commitment to combating corruption in the education sector.
“This sentencing sends a strong message that fraud and corruption will not be tolerated in our sector,” Chiloane stated. “We are encouraged by the collaboration between our internal teams and law enforcement in bringing the perpetrators to justice.”
The MEC indicated that the department would continue strengthening internal controls and promoting accountability measures to prevent similar incidents.
