A 63-year-old clerk has pleaded guilty to 972 counts of fraud in the Port Elizabeth Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday.
Estelle Burgess swindled the grand sum of R13,4 million over a period of ten years while she worked as a creditor’s clerk at the Eastern Cape Training Centre (ECT) in Port Elizabeth between November 2004 to September 2014.
NPA Regional spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani said Burgess’s duties had included the capturing of payments due to suppliers or creditors and the submission of captured payment lists for authorisation and payment.
Port Elizabeth fraudster used nine bank accounts
ECT used an online internet payment system to pay creditors and as the creditor’s clerk, Burgess assisted ECT’s financial manager to make these payments to the creditors.