This week our story is about an ex-bank consultant from Gqeberha that was sentenced 5 years for fraud and cybercrime.
Lusanda Gloria Qose (35) was found guilty by the Gqeberha regional court for fraud, cybercrime and unlawful use of customer credentials. Lusanda committed the crimes between the months January and April in 2024 that involved R245 000 of life savings. Pensioner Mlungwana Maranti (68) had an Encore account linked to a Money Maximiser account and a registered cellphone number used for authorizing his transactions. In this role we have a representative who is entrusted with protecting his data, upholding her FAIS obligations and complying with FICA’s due-diligence. However, she went on a different path.
Using her employee access, she altered account details and switched his registered phone number to her own so she could intercept his OTPs without the pensioners’ knowledge. She transferred funds from the Money Maximiser account to the Encore account and she conducted multiple ATM withdrawals over the span of 3 months. Shea also manipulated digital records to create a false impression that Mr Maranti was authorizing all of the transactions.
Mr Maranti testified that he began to have suicidal thoughts after losing his life savings. Lusanda said her choice was influenced by having financial struggles as a single mother who was supporting two teenagers (13 and 17), this was her justification to Prosecutor Edmyrach Matabata. The prosecutor demanded for Lusanda to take accountability, refusing to entertain her sympathy narrative.
DISCLAIMER! This content is for educational and informational purposes based on publicly available information.
Source: NPA