Cape Town – Convicted fraudsters, Samson Olatunji Abdul and Adedayo Quadri, were handed hefty jail terms recently in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
Hawks spokesperson, Philani Nkwalase, said the pair were sentenced on Friday after the Gauteng Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team’s probe proved their involvement in defrauding unsuspecting conveyancing law firms of about R7.8m during 2019.
“They pleaded guilty to all charges in January, 2021 and Abdul was subsequently sentenced to 12 years’ direct imprisonment while Quadri received seven years’ direct imprisonment for theft, fraud and money laundering.
Their co-accused Siphesihle Sithole, whose account was allegedly used in the commission of the crimes, is due to appear in court on Monday July 18, 2022.
“The trio were arrested in December, 2019 after siphoning money from DM5 Complaining System, Yaron Waks Attorneys and Omphile Construction. They were denied bail and remained in custody until their sentencing on Friday,” said Nkwalase.
Shortly after his sentencing Abdul was charged for fraud and money laundering to the tune of about R18m in another matter, where victims’ business emails were compromised and bank cards cloned.
Abdul is expected to be back in court again on July 20, 2022 for a further probe into the recent charges.
“The provincial head of the Hawks in Gauteng, Major-General Ebrahim Kadwa has lauded the investigation and prosecuting teams for bringing the perpetrators to book,” said Nkwalase.
Cape Times