Cunning con artist jailed after scamming Northern Cape municipalities of almost R1 million

A CUNNING fraudster who duped two Northern Cape municipalities out of nearly R1 million has been sentenced to 10 years in prison following a courtroom showdown in Kimberley.

The Kimberley Specialised Commercial Crimes Court handed down the hefty sentence recently to 33-year-old Simangele Sangweni, the mastermind behind an elaborate scheme that siphoned funds meant for legitimate service providers into her own company’s bank account. Her business, Multi Quipments (Pty) Ltd, also stood trial and received a R100,000 fine - wholly suspended.

The court found Sangweni guilty on 17 counts of fraud, 25 counts of money laundering, as well as forgery and uttering - offences she committed with remarkable audacity.

Hawks regional spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Tebogo Thebe said that in August 2021, Sangweni posed as Vaalharts Water and submitted bogus invoices and altered banking details to the Phokwane Municipality, convincing officials to redirect a payment of R455,510 straight into her company’s account. 

Barely a month later, she struck again - this time impersonating Sedibeng Water in dealings with the Frances Baard District Municipality. Another set of forged documents saw R469,918 vanish into the same fraudulent business account.

Her deceit unravelled thanks to the work of the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team, whose probe uncovered the full extent of the scam. Authorities say the conviction sends a clear message: fraudsters targeting public institutions will face the full force of the law.

While the company’s penalty was suspended, Sangweni’s personal price is far steeper - 10 years behind bars for trying to turn municipal funds into her own financial gain.