The Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crime Court sentenced Yandisa Babalwa Mjikelo (36) on several charges of fraud and money laundering, last week.
Hawks’ spokesperson, Captain Yolisa Mgolodela, said during the period between January 2018 and February 2019, Mjikelo was employed by Vapi Attorneys law firm, based in Mthatha.
“She was responsible for handling estate funds. She never paid beneficiaries their monies but instead used the money for her personal enrichment.
“After the families complained to the director of the law firm that they had not received their monies, the director reported the matter to the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team based in Mthatha for probing, which led to the arrest of Mjikelo on January 17, 2022,” said Mgolodela.
She added that she made her first court appearance in Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crime Court on January 18, where she was released on a R5 000 bail.
She added that the investigations revealed that the victims were prejudiced cash to the value of R3.7 million.
According to Mgolodela the matter was remanded on several occasions until the conviction on April 11, where she was found guilty on four counts of fraud and four counts of money laundering.
“On April 26, she was sentenced to 15 years’ direct imprisonment on the counts of fraud and to 16 years on counts of money laundering; both sentences would run concurrently,” Mgolodela said.
The provincial head of the Hawks, Major General Mboiki Obed Ngwenya, once more lauded the Mthatha Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team for their detection expertise, which ensured that Mjikelo got relevant retribution, so as to deter the same conduct by her other would-be offenders.
