R1.8 million VAT scam: Man’s attempt to steal from SARS ends in seven-year prison sentence

A man has been sentenced to seven years behind bars for VAT fraud.

A 39-year-old man has been sentenced to an effective seven years' direct imprisonment after he was convicted of fraud and money laundering linked to a scheme that defrauded the South African Revenue Service (SARS) of more than R1.8 million in fraudulent VAT refunds.

In a statement released on Friday, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said that the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court convicted Lufuno Matodzi on six counts comprising three counts of fraud and three counts of money laundering.

Matodzi received seven years' direct imprisonment on the fraud convictions and a further seven years on the money laundering convictions. The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently, resulting in an effective sentence of seven years behind bars.

According to the NPA, the offences stemmed from Matodzi's actions after a business owner, identified as Mr Hassan, sought his assistance with submitting tax returns for Coco Pure Manufacturing CC.