A 55-year-old man who posed as a security guard and walked out of a Nedbank branch in Klerksdorp with R3 million in cash has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Police spokesperson Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso said Welcome Marcus was sentenced by the Stilfontein District Court for the theft that occurred on April 11, 2018.
Fake security guard
“The accused and his accomplice were wearing security uniforms when they entered the Nedbank branch on Anderson Street and indicated that they were there to collect money.”
“He then collected 3 million and left the bank. It was only after they left that the bank officials realized that the couple were fake security officials,” Rikhotso said.
The matter was reported to the Priority Crime Investigation Directorate and investigated by the Serious Organized Crime Investigation.
The investigation led to the arrest of the duo in Johannesburg on 13 May 2018.
At that time, they appeared for the first time in court facing charges of theft and were released on R30 000 bail.
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The case was dropped against the accomplice
The case was later dropped against the second defendant when Marcus made several court appearances until he was finally convicted.
The provincial head for the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation in the North West – Major General Patrick Mbotho, thanked the investigative team for their great work and praised the work of the National Prosecuting Authority for the successful conviction.
A bank manager was jailed for stealing more than R3.6 million
In an unrelated incident, a 45-year-old bank manager was sentenced to 15 years in prison after stealing millions of rand from an automated teller machine (ATM) in June last year.
Aubrey Lepala Tlaka appeared in the Kwaggafontein Regional Court where the sentence was handed down.
Bank manager
Police spokesperson Bonnie Nxumalo said the accused criminal was a bank manager at one of the banks in the Kwaggafontein Complex when he stole the money.
“Between January 2011 and November 2012, Tlaka stole more than R3.6 million from automated teller machines and client estate accounts.
“The discrepancy was discovered and the matter was reported to the police.”
“The defendant was arrested and charged. He was found guilty of multiple counts of theft on May 25, 2022.
“He was sentenced on June 28, 2022, to 15 and eight years in prison to be served concurrently.”
Also read: ATM Fraud: Bank manager jailed for stealing more than R3.6 million