The NPA has been given the go-head to appeal against the "lenient" sentence handed down to former Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown.
|||Cape Town - The National Prosecuting Authority in the Western Cape has been given the go-ahead to appeal against the “lenient” sentence handed down to former Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown.
In May, Western Cape High Court Judge Anton Veldhuizen fined Brown R150 000 for two counts of fraud, with a further 18 months’ imprisonment, suspended for four years, for each count.
Spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said the National Prosecuting Authority had received notification from the Supreme Court of Appeal that it had been granted leave to appeal against the sentence.
“We will be ready to argue when the matter is on the roll.”
Brown, 43, initially faced 192 counts, but eventually went on trial in August on just nine counts.
In April, the State accepted his guilty plea to two counts of statutory fraud. These charges related to misrepresentations he made when Fidentia handled investments for the Transport Education and Training Authority and the Mantadia Asset Trust Company, now known as the Living Hands Umbrella Trust.
Brown admitted he had invested money contrary to his mandate and had known his financial statements were incorrect and could have caused prejudice to the investors.
“These involve potential prejudice and not actual prejudice and do not involve amounts of more than R500 000,” Judge Veldhuizen said.
This meant that the minimum sentence of 15 years in jail did not apply.
jade.otto@inl.co.za
Cape Argus