Sarathamoney Devi Sigamoney, 69, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for defrauding the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa), while serving as a director of a company that won lucrative state contracts

The Pretoria North Regional Court convicted Sigamoney on charges of perjury, fraud and theft.

She defrauded Sassa pension payouts, while being the sole director of a company that was awarded tenders worth millions from the South African Police Service (SAPS) to supply office furniture.

She has applied for leave to appeal and the matter was adjourned to March 12 for arguments.

"In his sentencing remarks, Magistrate Pieter Nel highlighted the need to convey a strong message to potential perpetrators on the seriousness of such offences. The court previously granted the Asset Forfeiture Unit a confiscation order against her, stipulating that an amount of R138 593 with interest calculated at 11.25% per annum, calculated from the date of this order, be paid back to Sassa," said Henry Mamothame, the spokesperson for the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC).

"On April 13, 2017, Sigamoney applied for an old age grant with Sassa, attaching a supporting affidavit where she stated that she had not worked for a period of 20 years. On April 18, Sassa provided Sigamoney with a letter of approval, which she signed for. She is alleged to have received grant money from Sassa amounting to approximately R123 000 from July 2017 to July 2022."

Mamothame said Sigamoney received the grant for 16 months.

"Although she was listed as the director of KJP Traders Pty and Matthew Pillay (her son), KJP is alleged to have conducted business with the State as early as 2012, preceding her application to Sassa. Furthermore, the company is estimated to have cashed in approximately R88 million from the SAPS contracts, to which the last payment was in 2022."

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Women, 69, sentenced to 10 years for Sassa fraud