The Bellville specialised commercial crimes court has sentenced Alwena Smith to an effective seven-year direct imprisonment after she defrauded a Stellenbosch law firm of more than R13m.
Smith, 53, was a senior accounts secretary of a law firm that specialised in notaries, conveyancing, estate law and third-party claims. She was employed from March 2006 until she was dismissed in May 2018, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said on Friday.
The court convicted Smith, after she entered into a plea and sentencing agreement with the state, of 171 counts of fraud, 171 counts of interference with data and four counts of money laundering.
