25 years in jail for cow fraud ‘should set an example’

The sentencing of a Free State farmer to 25 years behind bars for fraud should set the pace for dealing with corruption in South Africa, experts believe.

Last week a 37-year-old farmer was sentenced to a total of 427 years imprisonment after being convicted on 20 counts of theft and six counts of fraud by the Free State High Court sitting in Kroonstad. Cornelius Andries Loggenberg would effectively serve 25 years in prison after the judge ordered the sentences to run concurrently.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said Loggerenberg’s fate was sealed by a combination of the extent of the damage inflicted by the fraudster’s crimes and the amount of money involved in them.

Evidence presented in courts showed that Loggenberg farmed on a property called Kirkdale in Koppies. His farming activities included the maintenance of a herd of dairy cattle for milking purposes. During the course of expanding his dairy farming activities, he leased 2,136 Holstein cattle from various farmers over seven years. Instead of meeting his contractual obligations, Loggenberg conned the owners into thinking their cattle was well looked after, when in fact he eventually sold some of them, making millions in the process.

“When you look at the incident, it took place over a number of years, between 2009 and 2013. There are a number of fraud-related charges and considering that fraud is a serious crime in South Africa and the total value of the cattle involved was over R25 million. That is a lot of money so that is why the state was pushing for a higher sentence.”

Shuping said it was not an unusually harsh sentence for fraud in the country as the minimum sentence for fraud is 15 years. Loggenberg was convicted of 20 counts of fraud, with the crimes aggravated by the devastating effects it had on those he conned out of millions. Shuping added the NPA hoped to secure more convictions in the realm of commercial crimes, including fraud.

Meanwhile, civil rights group Afriforum was cautiously in agreement with the sentence as long as the process was done fairly, as this would set a deterring example for the prosecution of suspects in similar crimes and more powerful positions. Former president Jacob Zuma,who was facing trial for 18 charges of corruption, including more than 700 counts of fraud and money laundering, would be one such case, said the group’s legal expert Ian Cameron.

“I think depending on the evidence they have, which obviously in terms of Zuma there is quite a lot of, you would expect to have as heavy a sentence or even far worse. I think when you go and consider the amount of damage that someone like Zuma has done to many people in the country just through thieving from state coffers, they have made a massive negative impact on so many people’s livelihoods,” said Cameron.

Opposition party Cope, whose central messaging was around fighting corruption, deemed it an appropriate sentence and precedent. Party spokesperson Dennis Bloom welcomed the sentence.

“We think this is the right way to deal with theft, fraud and corruption. We only hope that our courts will deal the same way with politicians who are always involved in state capture and corruption. All are equal before the law.”

simnikiweh@citizen.co.za

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