Lawyer Blames The Devil For Fraud And Money Laundering
In the Eastern Cape, a lawyer has blamed the devil for breaking the law. Yandisa Mjikelo, 36, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud and money laundering in the Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
She defrauded beneficiaries of four estates in amounts ranging from R128,000 to R1.4 million between 2017 and 2019. Rather than opening estate accounts, Mjikelo conspired with unknown individuals to deposit money owed to beneficiaries into other accounts.
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Mjikelo then withdrew funds from those accounts, deposited funds into new accounts, made electronic transfers and invested in Bitcoin.
When family members of deceased relatives’ estates became suspicious, they approached the law firm’s director, who reported the incident to the police.
Investigations revealed a web of transactions used to conceal and disguise the nature, source, location, and movement of funds between accounts.
Mjikelo claimed that he was bewitched or forced to commit the acts by the devil in an attempt to reduce his sentence.
