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MEMBERS of a suspected syndicate have appeared in a Port Elizabeth court after allegedly depleting an elderly women’s estate worth more than R2.4-million within weeks of her death.
A Standard Bank official and a businessman appeared in the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court yesterday, where the case was postponed to next month for the accused to secure legal representation.
Sibongile Nkosana, 33, Owethu Mhlana, 34, and his business, Mhlana Development CC, face charges of forgery and fraud, alternatively theft.
Olive Knobel died on September 30 2014 with her children – Stephen, Brian and Louise – named beneficiaries of her estate.
They appointed Gideon Pitzer as their agent.
Knobel held eight accounts with Standard Bank with a combined value exceeding R2.4-million.
But when her children went to claim their inheritance, the accounts had been emptied.
The state alleges that on February 23 last year, Nkosana, who worked at the Standard Bank branch in Pickering Street, Newton Park, opened a fraudulent account in the name of “Estate Late Olive Knobel”. According to the charge sheet, Nkosana then presented false documents in support of the new account, including: ý An ID of Stephen Knobel; ý Proof of residence; ý Letter of executorship dated February 18 2015; and
ý Completed Standard Bank documents containing Stephen’s forged signature.
It is alleged that between March 5 and March 11 last year, Nkosana transferred R2.4-million from Knobel’s eight bank accounts and into the account “Estate Late Olive Knobel”.
On March 9, Nkosana allegedly issued a fraudulent Autobank card in the name of Stephen Knobel, with an electronic account payment limit of R500 000.
The next day, she allegedly added Mhlana Development CC’s Nedbank account as an electronic account payment beneficiary.
Mhlana is the sole member of the Motherwell business and had signing power over the Nedbank account.
By April 1, an amount of R1.9-million had been paid into the account of Mhlana Development.
From there, it is alleged Mhlana transferred the cash to five separate bank accounts.
A case was reported to the police after Knobel’s children tried to claim their inheritance.
The case was postponed to July 4. Both are out on bail.
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