Three kingpins of a syndicate that defrauded Telkom customers have been sentenced to jail time.
The three were among 13 people arrested in the past few months in connection with a scam in which fraudsters posing as Telkom employees offered discounts on phone bills.
The customers were told they could clear their outstanding bill for a particular month if they immediately deposited half of the outstanding amount into a certain bank account.
Telkom reports that over 500 of its customers around the country lost a total of around R1.5 million in the scam.
Eleven people were arrested in connection with the scam in May, and another two were arrested later. Three of the masterminds of the syndicate were sentenced this week. Michael Mlambo was sentenced to one year in prison, Penny Machwanazi was fined R4 000 or three months in prison, and Milton Ndlovu was sentenced to eight months imprisonment.
Telkom says investigations into the remaining suspects are still under way. The company says that while it believes the sentences imposed are not harsh enough, it acknowledges that the judicial system has sent a clear message to white-collar criminals.
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