Elderly couple and alleged accomplice appear in Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on fraud charges
A fraud case involving alleged manipulation of tax returns has landed three Mpumalanga residents in court.
Three people, including an elderly couple, briefly appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on fraud charges yesterday, February 18.
Christopher Nkosi (65) and his wife Sibongile Nkosi (59) appeared along with Nhlanhla Mashaba (39) for allegedly defrauding SARS of more than R200 000.
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The couple were informed that there was a warrant for their arrest and voluntarily handed themselves over to the Hawks’ Nelspruit-based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit. They were taken to court the same day, where they were joined by Mashaba (39).
Mashaba was arrested on Wednesday, February 11, after having been on the run for some time. He was remanded in custody pending his next court appearance on February 26 when he is expected to make a formal bail application.
The Nkosis were granted R4 000 bail each, pending their next court appearance on the same date as Mashaba.
According to Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Magonseni Nkosi, the couple served as the directors of a company called Ingcwenga Events Management.
Mashaba allegedly colluded with the couple to file their company’s tax returns via e-filing during 2013/14 tax season. He allegedly managed to manipulate the system, resulting in the South African Revenue Service (SARS) suffering an actual loss of R212 469.85,” said Nkosi.
“The misrepresentation was uncovered by SARS, and an investigation was handled by the Hawks. It was established that Mashaba played a major role in defrauding SARS,” added Nkosi.
