Convicted fraudster Retha Voogt (47) has been sentenced to an effective 15-years imprisonment for stealing more than R11 million from two East London companies, the Moore Stephens Auditing firm and PSG Consult, over a period of time from 2013 onwards.
The former personal assistant had pleaded guilty to multiple charges against her late last year but told the court she had gambled all the money away and had nothing to show for it.
During Thursday’s sentencing proceedings in the East London Regional Court, Voogt was sentenced to a total of 122 years behind bars.
Because a number of the counts against her were treated as one and will run concurrently, Voogt will spend an effective 15-years in jail.
From the outset, the State had sought a minimum prison term of 15-years for Voogt.
Defense Counsel Andre Schoombee says the court took into account mitigating factors but found that Voogt had acted without remorse or regret.
Magistrate Twanette Olivier ruled that she’d manipulated family and colleagues without any thought or care for the consequences to them.
In handing down the sentence, Magistrate Olivier said the court had found that Voogt was a master of manipulation and kept two sets of records which was no easy task.
“This crime spanned years in which you had time to reflect and could have stopped, yet continued unabated,” said Magistrate Olivier. “This court could not find any compelling and or substantial reasons as to why it should deviate from the minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment.”
Meanwhile, the Hawks in East London received a thumbs up for their investigation which led to the heavy sentence imposed on Voogt.
Hawks’ spokesperson, Captain Yolisa Mgolodela, says Voogt orchestrated fraudulent claims from the investment company PSG in the year 2017 and put the funds in the investment company in respect of 11 Road Accident Fund (RAF) pay-outs for accident victims.
She says the investigation further revealed that she submitted the fraudulent claims, making it appear that they came from the rightful beneficiaries, and instead deposited the money directly into her personal bank account.
