The last member of a 16-strong syndicate that systematically defrauded the South African Revenue Service (Sars) of an estimated R26 million over seven years has been sentenced to serve time behind bars.

Andries Seoketso‚ also known as Andrew Molefe or Druza‚ was sentenced in the Gauteng North High Court this week to 15 years imprisonment for fraud and 15 years for contraventions of The Proceeds of Crime Act. The sentences are to be served concurrently.

SARS said in a statement on Friday that Seoketso would join 15 syndicate members who were sentenced in 2014 to a combined 279 years’ imprisonment on charges of racketeering‚ money laundering and fraud. Some of those sentences are also running concurrently.

Syndicate members included former Sars employees Sydney Moyo‚ the mastermind of the scam‚ his wife Jane Moyo‚ and Richard Bopape.

Judgment was handed down on the syndicate in December 2013 with only fourteen members appearing in court. Two others‚ Seoketso and Sello Mothongwane‚ absconded and warrants were issued for their arrest.

Mothongwane was arrested in August 2014 and sentenced in December that year. Seoketso was arrested in April 2016.

“The syndicate offered jobs to unemployed residents in Mamelodi and Soshanguve in return for copies of their identity documents‚ which were used to ‘register’ the victims as taxpayers‚” said Sars.

“Fraudulent IRP5 certificates were then produced indicating that their ‘employers’ had deducted excessive tax from their salaries. This resulted in fraudulent tax ‘refunds’ being paid out and channelled into members of the syndicate’s bank accounts.” — TMG Digital