Two Free Staters have been brought to book in crimes involving theft of unemployment relief funds, money laundering, and fraud.
Thapelo Alfred Lephondo (47) and his company, Thaps Financial Solutions, were on 21 August convicted and subsequently sentenced by the Bethlehem Specialised Commercial Crimes Court for fraud and money laundering.
In 2020, Lephondo fraudulently applied for the Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) on behalf of his purported employees, whereas they were not employed by the company. The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) made payments to the total value of R908 287.28 to Thaps Financial Solutions’ bank account. As a result of this committed fraud, the Department of Employment and Labour was prejudiced and suffered a loss.
A case was registered and referred to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team in Bethlehem for further investigation which led to Lephondo being arrested.
Lephondo was sentenced to a fine of R500 000 or six years’ imprisonment for fraud. He was sentenced to 36 months of correctional supervision for money laundering.
The company, Thaps Financial Solutions, received a fine of R100 000 for fraud. This fine is wholly suspended for five years. Additionally, it received a fine of R500 000 for money laundering. This fine is also wholly suspended for five years.
In another case, Ntsebeng Marygold Moji (39) and her company were found guilty in the Phuthaditjhaba Magistrates’ Court and sentenced for fraud and money laundering.
The sentencing emanates from February 2025 when the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team based in Bethlehem arrested Moji after she fraudulently applied on behalf of 16 people purported to be working for her company. This occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic. During this time, employers and workers turned to the Department of Employment and Labour for relief. Over R178 000 was paid into her business account. However, it later surfaced that none of the individuals appearing on her application worked for her.
The court found Moji guilty and sentenced her to a fine of R178 128.36 for six counts of theft or to undergo four years’ imprisonment. For contravention of Section 6 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, she received a five-year imprisonment sentence. It was wholly suspended for five years. This suspension is on condition that she is not found guilty of the same offence.
Moji’s company, Aqua Land and Swimming Services, was fined R200 000 for theft. The fine is wholly suspended for five years. This suspension is on the condition that the accused is not convicted of theft during the period of suspension. The company was further sentenced to a fine of R200 000 for money laundering. The fine is wholly suspended for five years. This suspension depends on the accused not being convicted of the same offense during this period.
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