The woman arrested for allegedly defrauding the Mantsopa Local Municipality in the Free State will learn of the prospects of her bail application during a hearing in the Ladybrand Magistrates’ Court, today – Thursday, 29 February. The suspect, Maria Louisa Venter (44), had her bail application postponed while remanded in custody.
The woman is facing charges of fraud, forgery, uttering, and money laundering following her arrest on 14 February. Venter briefly appeared in court on Friday, 16 February. The Bethlehem Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team arrested Venter for allegedly defrauding the ANC-governed municipality of R225 289,69 in December 2020. She has been remanded in custody as part of the elite crime fighting agency’s investigation into the reported fraud.
Capt. Christopher Singo, provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, said the Pretoria police’s detective services handed over Venter to the Free State’s Hawks team after arresting her. He said a warrant to arrest Venter had already been issued. Singo said the woman pretended to be a service provider to defraud the municipality on 24 December 2020.
Singo said the money in question was an outstanding amount the municipality had owed a legitimate service provider. He said according to findings, Venter had knowledge of the money and thereby sent an email to the municipality’s budget manager, requesting payment of an outstanding amount of R225 289,69.
Singo said the fraud had been discovered a few days later, when the legitimate service provider approached the municipality requesting the outstanding payment which was duly paid.
