The 33-year-old KwaZulu-Natal man, convicted of defrauding a popular Port Elizabeth clothing store of more than R8 million, has been sentenced to an effective 15 years behind bars in the PE Commercial Crimes Court.
Ravishkar Ramgoolam, from Newcastle, pleaded guilty in April to 37 charges of fraud, committed between 2016 and 2017 whilst working as an accountant at BMT Street Fever in PE.
He was sentenced on Monday morning by Magistrate Lionel Lindoor who also refused an application for leave to appeal.
Magistrate Lindoor says Ramgoolam further hid behind an apparent gambling addiction and did so by seeking help from the South African Gambling Addiction Foundation, but this only after the discovery of his fraud dealings.
He says although Ramgoolam pleaded guilty to the earlier charges, it did not imply that he was remorseful.
"The accused was a trusted employee at Street Fever, and literally bit the hand who fed him," he said.
Following sentencing, Magistrate Lindoor denied an application for leave to appeal the sentence brought by Ramgoolam's attorney, Siva Chetty.
[WATCH] The 32-year-old KwaZulu-Natal man, convicted of defrauding a popular Port Elizabeth clothing store of more than R8mil, has been sentenced to an effective 15 years behind bars at the PE Commercial Crimes Court today @AlgoaFMNews. pic.twitter.com/LTjNQ0UHNq
— Kirstie Kiki Paulse (@Kiki_Paulse) September 2, 2019
