Man who kept R4.7m Ters money meant for employer found guilty

A man whose bank account received R4.7m of the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s Covid-19 Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) funds destined for his employer in 2020 was found guilty of theft on Thursday.

The Pretoria specialised commercial crimes court found Moreroa Moses Leso, 64, guilty of theft of more than R99,000.

At the time of the incident in 2020 Leso, from Hammanskraal, was employed by his company as a bus driver.  The company had applied for Ters funds on behalf of 1,400 employees during the hard lockdown.

However, R4.7m was mistakenly paid into Leso’s Capitec account instead of the company’s Standard Bank account, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said. 

Immediately after receiving the funds, Leso transferred R4m into his daughter’s bank account for safekeeping and kept the rest for his personal use.

After an inquiry by the company as to why it was not receiving payment from the department of employment & labour and employment, it was discovered that the money was paid into Leso’s personal account.

Leso subsequently paid R4.6m back to the department. He was arrested and released on bail on August 31 2020.

In court, Leso said he used some of the money to pay his debts and buy food. The matter was postponed until next Tuesday for sentencing.

TimesLIVE