eBundu Lodge co-owner convicted of fraud
A co-owner of the lodge was convicted on fraud charges dating back to 2016. He was found guilty on Monday October 11.
The owner of the well-known eBundu Lodge, Albert Sibusiso Tshabalala (42), was convicted of three counts of fraud in the Nelspruit Commercial Crimes Court on Monday October 11.
In a statement the Mpumalanga NPA’s spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa, said Tshabalala and his wife, Ntombizodwa Katlego, were charged along with their company, Chuma Investments, with four counts of fraud and four counts of money laundering.
However, Katlego was found not guilty on all charges. Tshabalala and his company were convicted on three counts of fraud amounting to over R150 000.
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According to the statement, during August 2016, Tshabalala submitted four invoices to eBundu Lodge, claiming these to have been issued by Isizwe Chartered Accountants.
“At that time, Isizwe Chartered Accountants were auditing the financial records of eBundu Lodge. The banking details of Isizwe were changed to those of Chuma Investments, and eBundu Lodge paid these invoices believing they were payments to Isizwe Chartered Accountants,” said Nyuswa.
“In 2018, Maqhinga Zulu, the owner of Isizwe Chartered Accountant, discovered that invoices were issued under the name of his accounting firm but were paid to a third party.”
Zulu then contacted Tshabalala’s partner in the ownership of the lodge, Willem Janson, who reported the matter to the police.
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The state advocate, Henry Nxumalo, led with the evidence of five witnesses, including a chartered accountant and the owner of Isizwe Chartered Accountants, whose business letterheads were used to defraud Janson.
A bookkeeper at eBundu Lodge testified that she had effected payments, believing that these were to Isizwe Chartered Accountants.
The court found that the state proved beyond reasonable doubt that Tshabalala had created and submitted these invoices in order to defraud Willem Janson/eBundu Lodge, and that both eBundu Lodge and Isizwe Chartered Accountants suffered prejudice as a result of Sibusiso Tshabala’s actions. Nyuswa confirmed that Tshabalala had not yet been sentenced.
