A 45-YEAR-OLD United Refineries Limited employee, Shingai Takunda Mabena, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for creating fake payslips for 12 ghost employees and defrauding two microfinance institutions of more than US$186 000 in loans.
Mabena was convicted by Bulawayo regional magistrate Shingi Mutero for fraud under section 146 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, as well as for forgery (sections 170 and 171), criminal breach of trust (section 121) and theft (section 113).
The court suspended two years of his sentence, provided he does not commit a similar offence within five years.
An additional five years were suspended on the condition that he repays US$36 000 to Club Plus Micro-Finance and US$104 876,70 to Lenderspark Finance Company by December 31.
He will serve an effective three-year jail term.
The fraud, which took place between May and December 2024, involved Mabena creating fictitious files and documents to present 12 non-existent employees of United Refineries as applicants for loans.
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He generated fake payslips, employment letters and other documents to access loans, diverting the funds for personal use.
The scheme was uncovered after Lenderspark sent multiple repayment reminders.
An internal investigation confirmed the existence of ghost employees and revealed that Mabena applied for salary-based loans using forged documents, prompting his arrest.