Businessman Milton Mbongeni Lushaba has been arrested for allegedly swindling the Mpumalanga education department out of R280,000.

Lushaba, 56, is accused of double invoicing the department when he was a scholar transport service provider 14 years ago. Hawks spokesperson Capt Lloyd Ramovha said Lushaba allegedly went as far as invoicing for school holidays.

The directorate’s serious commercial crime investigation team arrested him on Friday and he appeared in the Ermelo magistrate’s court shortly afterwards.

“The investigation itself started around April 2015 when the case was opened. The Hawks’ investigation uncovered that between September and October 2007, Lushaba as a transport service provider submitted invoices for services that were never rendered. In fact, in some instances he submitted claims for the period when schools were closed. This resulted in the department losing around R280,000,” said Ramovha.

Lushaba was released on R10,000. He will appear in the Middelburg commercial specialised crime court on November 12.

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