Thabethe defrauded business people in Etwatwa for a lengthy period of time.
“He went around collecting money from business people, saying the funds were needed to run the CPF and community projects,” said Benoni SAPS spokesperson Lieut Nomsa Sekele.
Some of the business people started enquiring when they noticed that the CPF had not been running any projects.
The matter was reported to the police and the 26-year-old was arrested after police set a trap for him.
Thabethe was sentenced to three years imprisonment.
He was also found guilty on another charge of fraud and sentenced to a further six years imprisonment.
“He worked at a car rental company, where he was involved with criminals in selling hired vehicles and claiming that they were hijacked or stolen from people who hired those cars,” said Sekele.
