KWAZULU-NATAL – On Tuesday, 15 October 2024, the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sentenced Rakesh Maharaj (46) for 103 counts of fraud, 102 corruption and one count of money laundering.
During the period between January 2015 and September 2017, Maharaj was employed by Consulens Health Care Solution PTY as a Logistics Manager. It was discovered that he colluded with his accomplices and manipulated stock levels on the company system. They allegedly created a requirement for certain products in order to purchase more stock.
In the process, they created false invoices and delivery notes to the amount of R24 million which was paid to the suppliers. A case of fraud, corruption and money laundering was reported at Cato Manor police station and the case docket was allocated to Hawks members from Durban Serious Corruption Investigation. They were arrested and charged accordingly in November 2021.
Maharaj was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for fraud of which two years is suspended for three years, another 10 years imprisonment for corruption of which two years is also suspended for three years and five years imprisonment for money laundering which is wholly suspended for three years. His sentence will run concurrently which means that he will effectively serve eight years direct imprisonment.
His accomplices, Oleena Dauchand (51) and Debi George (61) will continue with the trial on 30 October 2024.
The KwaZulu-Natal Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation Provincial Head, Major General (Dr) Lesetja Senona welcomed the sentence and congratulated the members for the good work.
What is Fraud? “Fraud” is any activity that relies on deception in order to achieve a gain. Fraud becomes a crime when it is a “knowing misrepresentation of the truth or concealment of a material fact to induce another to act to his or her detriment” (Black’s Law Dictionary). In other words, if you lie in order to deprive a person or organization of their money or property, you’re committing fraud.