ganised criminal syndicates plan that the money be paid to someone [else's] account so that it is difficult to trace it to the ultimate recipients, despite that they are the main beneficiaries of the spoils." (Reuters)
Olatunji Samson Abdul and Adebayo Quandri, who stole more than R12.4-million in a two-month cyber scam targeting property companies and conveyancing firms, have been slapped with 12 and seven years’ imprisonment respectively.
The scheme, known by law enforcement agencies as the business email compromise scam, was first detected in South Africa in 2019 when Abdul was arrested in November that year.
They were sentenced on Friday at the Johannesburg specialised commercial crimes court, sitting in Palm Ridge.
Abdul and Quandri, who were convicted on 24 theft counts, were motivated “by greed” when they intercepted more than R7.8-million in a May 2019 sale by cloning the email address of DM5, a conveyancing firm that handled the transaction on behalf of the Limpopo-based property company, Amogelang Holdings.
The fraudsters sent an email to the conveyancing firm, telling it to redirect the more than R7.8-million payment meant for the property company to another account Abdul and Quandri had opened.
A month later, in June 2019, they stole R4.2-million meant for another client, Lesley Warther, by cloning Yaron Waks Attorneys’ email system and asking for payment meant for Warther to be deposited in a fraudulent account.
Abdul stole R391 011.37 the Greater Tzaneen local municipality in Limpopo owed Omphile Electrical and Construction, which had a contract with the municipality to electrify houses.
This was according to the charge sheet presented to the court by prosecutor Frans Mhlongo.
Abdul, in particular, lived a lavish lifestyle with his illicit gains, renting an upmarket house in Waterfalls Estate, Johannesburg, for R52 000 a month, with an up-front payment of R210 000.
He was arrested driving a Bentley rented for R55 000 a month, with an upfront payment of R50 000.
An amount of R710 000 was found in Abdul’s house, as well as a large quantity of cognac and champagne.
A probation report submitted by Abdul’s defence attorney showed that he said he had a monthly income of R30 000. But his monthly expenses were R132 000.
Magistrate Emmanuel said Abdul “raised the bar” of his living expenses because he knew he had other income sources to make up the shortfall.
“In brief, it was more out of greed than out of need that you engaged in this criminal conduct,” Magampa charged.
The magistrate added that the fraudsters duped unsuspecting and desperate people, who were paid R100 to open accounts in their names so that Abdul and Quandri could launder their stolen cash.
“Organised criminal syndicates plan that the money be paid to someone [else’s] account so that it is difficult to trace it to the ultimate recipients, despite that they are the main beneficiaries of the spoils.”
In pleading for a lenient sentence, Abdul, whose wife moved back to Nigeria with their children after his arrest, said his children, aged six and 10, depended on him.
But Magampa rejected Abdul’s pleas, saying those were the consequences of being a thief.
Both fraudsters were taken to a correctional facility on Friday.
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