Former Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality clerk, Stephanie Reeners, has pleaded guilty to 448 counts of fraud and forgery which amount to just over R640 000.
She further pleaded guilty in the PE Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday to another three counts of forgery.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says 48-year-old Reeners committed these crimes between February 2012 and November 2017.
NPA spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani says during Reeners tenure as an administration clerk at the municipality’s Central Information Centre (CIC), she volunteered to perform some of the duties of the CIC Assistant which included the submission of building plans to the Building Inspectorate Division of the municipality.
She says her duties entailed receiving and quality checking the new building plans which were submitted to the Building Inspectorate by Architects and Draught-persons.
"The CIC Assistant would then write out tax invoices and would submit one copy of the invoice to the Treasury division of the municipality and hand over another copy to the clients (Architects and Draught-persons) for payment. The clients would then submit these invoices to the cashiers of the municipality and make payments to them. The clients would thereafter bring back the proof of payment to the CIC Assistant who would attach it to the invoice and documents. An administration clerk in the CIC would then prepare the clients' documents for quality check and submit them to the Building Inspectorate'" she said.
Reeners pleaded guilty to receiving payments directly from clients.
The court accepted the guilty plea and found her guilty for 224 counts of fraud and 227 counts of forgery.
The case was postponed to the 4th of May for sentencing.
