The Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Gqeberha sentenced Stephanie Reeners (48) to seven years direct imprisonment for 244 counts of fraud on Tuesday.
Between November 2014 and June 2017, Reeners in her capacity as the Central Administration Clerk at the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) accepted payments for new building plans. She pretended to the Building Inspectorate that tax invoices were received by the Treasury Division.
The Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team based in Gqebehra discovered fraudulent transactions by Reeners which prejudiced the NMBM cash of more than R640 000-00.
The findings culminated in her arrest on 3 March 2020 where she was released on bail.
She was convicted on 23 March 2021 and was slammed with an eight year sentence of which one year was suspended for five years.
The Hawks’ Provincial Head in the Eastern Cape, Major General Obed Ngwenya lauded the team for striving hard to ensure that criminal tendencies that cripple the economy of the state are dealt with.
