A woman who swindled thousands of rands from young people who wanted to train as nurses was convicted of fraud by the Nelspruit Specialised Commercial Crimes Court last week and ordered to pay back the money.
The case dates back to 2016, when Nomthandazo Matsane (50) pretended to work for Kabokweni Nursing College, purporting to be in charge of registration, and recruited unsuspecting, unemployed youth who submitted application forms for registration to be trained as nurses.
Thereafter, she told them they had to pay R12 500 each, allegedly for registration, uniform and accommodation, and provided bank details – supposedly for the college – into which 17 of them paid money.
IOL reports that after a tip-off, a Hawks investigation linked Matsane and two accomplices to the case and all three were arrested.
The case against the other two was postponed to 13 August for trial.
Matsane was found guilty and sentenced on Wednesday to eight years’ imprisonment, suspended for five years on condition she undergoes correctional supervision for three years; community service for 16 hours per month for three years, and participation in programmes determined by the correctional services supervision committee.
Additionally, she must pay R99 300 compensation to the state of R3 000 in monthly instalments. When the full amount has been received, the clerk of the court will contact the 17 victims and pay them back their money.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Woman in court over R3m nursing college fraud
Bogus nursing college boss faces nearly 100 counts of fraud
Woman arrested for running bogus nursing colleges