A 54-year-old Cape Town woman was found guilty of nearly one hundred counts of fraud and theft.
|||Wynberg - A woman was found guilty of several counts of fraud and theft by the Wynberg Regional Court on Wednesday.
Magistrate Jackie Redelinghuys found Linda Adams, 54, guilty of 72 counts of fraud, 13 of theft and eight of failing to submit tax returns.
Adams was told to return to court on September 2 for sentencing.
Welcoming the judgment, National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said Adams practised under the company name 'TaxSave', and used various methods to defraud clients until one of them reported her suspicious conduct to the SA Revenue Service (Sars).
Adams arranged to have tax refunds due to clients posted to her own address. She then deposited the refunds into her own account.
Adams claimed the money she took was for fees to which she was entitled.
In court, she admitted she had not sent invoices to clients because her administration was in disarray.
Adams initially pleaded not guilty to all counts, but under cross-examination by prosecutor Freek Geyser changed her plea to guilty.
Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille was one of the victims of the scheme.
Ntabazalila said the State's case was strong and that Adams had not only defrauded Sars, but also her own clients who trusted her.
He said the case had been on the roll for more than five years “but the State stuck to its guns and secured the convictions that it sought”.
“Some criminals regard it as not serious to commit white-collar tax-related offences. Our message is: 'Beware. You will be caught.'“ - Sapa