Details of how mobile giant Vodacom was allegedly swindled of R24.6-million through the "theft" of more than 8 700 Apple iPhones by the Poonsammy family have been revealed in an intricate trial.
(Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Details of how mobile giant Vodacom was allegedly swindled of R24.6-million through the “theft” of more than 8 700 Apple iPhones by the Poonsammy family have been revealed in an intricate trial.
Peter Poonsammy, who was stationed at Vodacom’s corporate offices in Midrand as a business analyst, is facing more than 70 theft and money laundering charges for allegedly stealing more than 8 700 iPhone devices from April 2012 to July 2014.
Upmarket Mercedes Benz vehicles also form part of the state’s case, as Poonsammy is accused of buying and selling the luxury cars as a means to allegedly “clean” the money prosecutors believe the former business analyst received from Vodacom.
The company told the Mail & Guardian that its systems had been fortified, preventing further breaches such as the one Poonsammy is accused of committing.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) charge sheet, Poonsammy was the sole director of Blaze Technology. The state alleges that Poonsammy “fraudulently” registered two accounts for his company as a Vodacom dealer to enable Blaze Technology to place cellphone device orders.
Poonsammy is accused of ordering and generating invoices for the phones, receiving them at his company’s warehouse, but not paying Vodacom a cent for the sales.
The trial is being prosecuted by the Investigating Directorate (ID) stationed in NPA head Shamila Batohi’s office.
The documents detail an elaborate scheme of how Poonsammy roped in his wife, Khemie Poonsammy, to allegedly launder the illicit gains through her Nedbank account. Khemie is the second accused in the case and is facing one count of money laundering.
The M&G recently reported on another high-profile case of an alleged family-run scam being probed by the ID, with the Chetty family expected back in court later this month for, the NPA said, capturing the South African Police Service to the tune of R100-million.
Investigators in the Chetty case believe the total amounts involved could finally add up to R1-billion.
The alleged Poonsammy scam, according to the NPA, began in April 2012, when 20 devices were ordered and delivered to Blaze Technology’s Halfway House address at a combined cost of R54 323.
In the seven months of 2014 before his 25 July 2014 arrest, Poonsammy is accused of stealing 5 100 iPhones.
(John McCann/M&G)
According to a breakdown of when the alleged fraudulent transactions occurred, Poonsammy began slowly, purchasing not more than 70 devices per order. From August 2013, the state claims, he upped his tempo and started procuring more than 100 phones, with the biggest monthly buy for 2 300 iPhones in June 2014, a month before his arrest.
“The devices were then sold to persons whose identities are currently to the state unknown, and the proceeds of the sales were paid into the [Standard Bank account of Poonsammy],” reads the NPA’s charge sheet.
Khemie Poonsammy, Rajeen Gokulpersad (accused number three) and Rajesh Rawchand (accused number four) are the other accused facing trial.
Their legal representative, Rajen Naidoo, indicated in court that his clients were not guilty and that the state had no case against them. Naidoo did not respond to requests for comment from the M&G.
The trial was postponed during the last court appearance last month when Naidoo revealed that Gokulpersad could not attend due to unspecified medical reasons. When the trial resumes, Naidoo is expected to cross-examine Jabu Mogale, Vodacom’s forensic investigator.
Mogale, the state’s first witness, testified in his evidence-in-chief how Vodacom had foiled the alleged scam, including providing the court with all 71 order numbers Poonsammy is accused of having generated for the alleged bogus sales.
In a statement this week, Vodacom’s spokesperson Byron Kennedy confirmed that it was aware of the theft and money-laundering case against its former employee.
Kennedy said the alleged breaches of Vodacom’s systems were not a cause for concern.
“We have put additional measures in place to prevent similar exploits from occurring,” Kennedy added.
The state accused Poonsammy and his wife of being so brazen that, between 23 July and 25 July 2014, when they suspected that the net was closing in on them, the couple made transactions worth R650 000 to prepare for the legal defence, according to the charge sheet.
Poonsammy had purchased a Mercedes Benz C63 Coupe and a Mercedes Benz W176, both for a combined sum of almost R2-million, as one of the ways to allegedly launder the money.
In August 2014, a month after his arrest, Poonsammy allegedly transferred the C63 to Dawchand’s name and the W176 to Gokulpersad’s.
The NPA stated that the buying and transferring of the cars was to enable and assist “any person who has committed … an offence to avoid prosecution and/or remove or diminish any property acquired directly as a result of the commission of the offence”.
The four accused, who are all out on bail, are expected back in court next month.
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