A mother of three who hid in a deep freezer to evade arrest, has been sent to jail for fraud and theft.
In the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court, on Monday, Prishne Khan, 37, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for 63 counts of fraud that resulted in losses exceeding R3 million.
Lumka Mahanjana, the Gauteng spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said in addition, she received a further 4-year imprisonment for theft amounting to R350 000, with the court ordering that these sentences run concurrently, resulting in an effective sentence of 10 years in prison.
Mahanjana said the court heard that Khan was employed as a bookkeeper at Northern Cricket Union from June 2015 to 18 January 2017, with responsibilities that included processing payments for various service providers.
"Instead of executing her duties honestly, she altered banking details on multiple invoices, replacing them with those of her husband and cousin and misappropriating R350 000 over six weeks from May to June 2016. When questioned about her actions, Khan resigned from her position."
She said following her resignation, Khan became the finance manager at Customer Loyalty Consultant (PTY) Ltd from 09 March 2017 to 30 September 2017.
" This role provided her with access to the company’s bank account and banking systems. During her employment, Khan again manipulated customer banking details to funnel payments into accounts controlled by her husband and cousin."
Mahanjana said despite her ability to process payments, she could not execute them immediately due to a token needed, which was the responsibility of another employee.
"After leaving the company in September 2017, another employee provided her with the token, allowing her to release payments totalling more than R3 million to herself from September 2017 until March 2018."
She said the fraudulent activities came to light when the bank alerted the company about suspicious transactions.
"Subsequent investigations by the police led to Khan's first court appearance on 31 May 2018. In court, Khan pleaded guilty to the charges and attributed her criminal conduct to financial difficulties, claiming she needed the money for essentials, including purchasing a motor vehicle for her husband. However, evidence in the pre-sentence report revealed that she had used the stolen funds for gambling."
She said during sentencing proceedings, Khan sought leniency based on her responsibilities towards her three minor children aged 6, 12, and 15, and cited ill health as factors in her favour.
"In response, Prosecutor Advocate Pulane Segalo argued that Khan had committed serious offences, emphasising that she had betrayed the trust of her employers for personal gain. She urged the court to impose a sentence of direct imprisonment to reflect the gravity of her actions. The matter was postponed to March 3, 2023 for the judgment on the sentence."
She said Khan absconded leading to a warrant for her arrest.
" Over a year later, on 30 August 2024, she was located hiding in a freezer at her new home in Nigel, leading to her arrest and court appearance today.
When delivering the sentence, Magistrate Du Preez agreed with the state, stating that Khan’s actions were motivated by greed rather than necessity. He noted that Khan did not demonstrate genuine remorse."
Mahanjana said Khan pleaded guilty only due to the realisation of the consequences of her actions.
"Consequently, the court determined that the only suitable sentence in these circumstances was imprisonment. The NPA welcomes the ruling and reaffirms its commitment to holding offenders accountable for commercial crimes. This case serves as a reminder that the NPA is dedicated to prosecuting fraud and maintaining integrity within financial dealings in South Africa."