A HARARE woman is accused of committing fraud and robbing her employer of over US$4 500, a Harare magistrate heard last week.
Brenda Mabuto, 34, who is employed as a finance officer at a local company, Ashleen Investments, was arraigned before Harare magistrate Dennis Mangosi, facing two separate charges of fraud and theft of trust property.
She was released on $100 000 bail and remanded to May 18. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is alleging that Mabuto would convert company money that she received into personal use. “On 31 March 2023 at around 1630 hours, Joseph Chikaka, a client of Ashleen Investments went to make a loan payment at the company and handed over cash of US$1 500 to Mabuto in hand.
Mabuto told Chikaka to return the next day to collect his receipt as acknowledgement of payment since that day the office was busy with fumigation and could not tender him with a receipt,” the court heard. However, Mabuto allegedly did not write the receipt as required.
On April 17, 2023, Justin Tadyanemhandu, who is the company’s managing director, got information that she had not receipted cash amounting to US$1 500 which was a loan repayment made by Chikaka.
Tadyanemhandu then asked Mabuto to surrender the cash that had been paid by the client, but she failed to surrender it or account for it. It was also reportedly later revealed that she had converted the cash to her own personal use.
In the fraud charge, Mabuto is also accused of deliberately duplicating two transactions and misrepresenting the facts on the financial statements. It is alleged that she made a transaction of US$3 000 on 23 March 2023. She went on to duplicate the same transaction on 31 March, thereby defrauding the company US$3 000.