A former bookkeeper at Northern Cricket Union was sentenced to an effective 10 years in prison this week for 63 counts of fraud.
Prishne Khan, 37, worked at the Union from 2015 to 2017 where her responsibilities included processing payments for various service providers.
A spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Pretoria Lumka Mahanjana says instead of executing her duties, she altered banking details on multiple invoices, replacing them with those of her husband and cousin, misappropriating R350 000 over six weeks.
She says Khan's actions resulted in losses exceeding R3 million.
Mahanjana says, when Khan was questioned about her actions, she resigned and became the finance manager at Customer Loyalty Consultant (PT) Ltd. where she worked for six months.
She says this new role gave her access to the company's bank account and banking systems she again manipulated banking details into other accounts.
Khan was arrested and appeared in court on the 31st of May 2018, where she pleaded guilty to the charges.
In court, she attributed her criminal conduct to financial difficulties, but evidence in the pre-sentence report revealed that she used the money for gambling.
As court proceedings continued, the matter was postponed for judgment and sentencing on the 3rd of March 2023.
Khan absconded and a warrant of arrest was issued.
The NPA's Mahanjana says she was finally located last week, over a year since she absconded.
She says Khan was living at a new house in Nigel and was found hiding in a freezer.
The Magistrate said during sentencing at the Pretoria Specialized Commercial Crimes Court on Monday that Khan showed no remorse.
