A 32-year-old former Standard Bank employee has been sentenced to seven years in prison for scamming consumers of almost R3 million.
Cynthia Ncube was sentenced by the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Tuesday.
According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokeswoman Phindi Mjonondwane, between August 8 and August 22, 2018, the Hawks conducted investigations that proved Ncube abused her position to gain access to the bank’s client database. She targeted clients with large investments, resulting in massive financial losses.
“She frequently transferred monies from clients’ accounts without their authorization to offshore corporations and her own account. The fraudulent transactions amount to more than R3 million.
“The criminal acts affected multiple clients, including one who was debited over R397,000 without consent and another who lost over R1.7 million,” Mjonondwane told the newspaper.
Mjonondwane reported that Ncube was apprehended by Hawks and charged with fraud, theft, and money laundering.
“Following three years in custody, she was released on R30,000 bail,” she told me.
Mjonondwane stated that Ncube’s accomplice, Austin Muzinganye Nkomo, also received some of the bogus monies, while another suspect is still at large.
Nkomo received a nine-year prison sentence early last year.
Advocate Vincent Ndzuke, a senior prosecutor, said in court that Ncube’s acts constituted a major breach of trust, describing it as an example of an employee biting the hand that feeds him.
Ndzuke emphasized that failing to impose a jail term would damage public trust in the justice system because it would be interpreted as compassion toward those who abuse their position for personal benefit.
