AN accountant who defrauded her employers of R122 269 041.98 has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment at the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court, and charges against her husband have been withdrawn.

Amanda Lowton (52) appeared in court on Thursday (October 24) when she was handed the hefty sentence after pleading guilty to 105 counts of fraud and 105 counts of money laundering. According to the KZN HAWKS spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo, Lowton and her husband, Mark Lawton (57), and co-accused Daryl Spencer (60) managed to siphon the funds through fraudulent receipts.

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He said, “In 2012, Amanda was employed by a big company as an accountant. At one stage, her husband, Mark Lawton (57) submitted fictitious invoices to the same company and an amount of R1.8 million was paid into his business account. Both Amanda and Daryl Spencer (60) approved the payment. As a result, the company suffered a financial loss. A case of fraud was reported at Pinetown Police Station for intensive investigation. Amanda resigned in 2017, and her replacement discovered that there were more fictitious payments made to a South African Revenue Service (SARS) bank account that was not loaded as a SARS beneficiary.”

Mhlongo said that an internal investigation was conducted, and it was discovered that fraudulent payments in the amount of R122 269 041.98 were made into four bank accounts belonging to Mark.

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“After the receipt of funds, a percentage was paid to the company’s suppliers, and the balance of R47 545 616.28 was retained. Another case of fraud and money laundering was reported at Pinetown Police Station. The three accused were arrested in April 2021. They appeared in court and were released on bail. Spencer absconded, and a warrant of arrest was issued. Amanda entered into a plea agreement with the state, hence, she was sentenced. Charges against her husband were withdrawn,” said Mhlongo.

Lowton was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for counts of fraud of which five years are suspended on condition that she is not convicted of fraud or theft during the period of suspension. She was further sentenced to seven years imprisonment for all counts of money laundering. All counts were taken as one for the purpose of sentencing, and her sentence will run concurrently. Thus, Amanda will serve 10 years of direct imprisonment.

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