The former chief executive of defunct Regal Bank and a convicted fraudster faces a sentence of at least 15 years when he is sentenced on Tuesday.
Jeff Levenstein will appear before a judge at the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on eight charges, including six of fraud and two of the contravention of the Companies Act of 1973.
He has been out on a R50 000 bail and has been under house arrest since his conviction by acting judge Naren Pandya in June. Levenstein now pleads poverty and claims to be living from hand to mouth.
The six counts of fraud carry a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years although the prosecution has asked that they be served concurrently.
The prosecution has accused Levenstein of a criminal conduct that resulted in the collapse of Regal in June 2001.
In its heads of argument for Levenstein's sentence, the prosecution has said: In spite of the accused's industrious efforts to hide the fact that Regal Bank was not doing financially well, the truth of Regal's dismal performance and situation was ultimately exposed. This resulted in Regal Bank being placed in curatorship and ultimately liquidated.
Levenstein has been found guilty of falsely shoring up Regal's share price by buying its own shares and giving other people and entities money to acquire the shares of Regal Holdings, the bank's parent company.