Zonja Rene Patmore was employed as an administrator in the finance department of Cosmos Old Age Home where part of her duties included safekeeping of the SASSA or banks cards of residents of the old age home.
Such SASSA or bank cards were officially kept in a restricted access-controlled office area on the premises of the old age home, which fell directly under the accused’s control and subsequently her access.
The accused’s duties further included the proper management of rental of payments of the occupants from SASSA and/or other bank cards.
The Boksburg Magistrate’s Court found Patmore guilty of fraud as it was found she took advantage of her position to steal from the pensioners, some of whom could not recall how much money they had in their banks accounts.
The court found that the accused, during the committal of the offences, removed the cards without permission or consent of the cardholders concerned from the restricted area and utilised these cards to withdraw amounts for personal use and not for purposes as officially authorised.
She used the cards to withdraw money from different ATMs and venues in and around Boksburg.
She faced 79 charges of fraud in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court, which equals the number of times she withdrew money from different ATMs and bank accounts.
She pleaded guilty and was found guilty on all counts of theft and was sentenced on August 23.
Patmore has two previous convictions of fraud committed in 1991 and 2008.
The charges were taken together as follows for the purpose of sentencing:
*Count 1 to 20, three years in jail.
*Count 21 to 40, three years in jail.
*Count 41 to 60, three years in jail.
*Count 61 to 79, three years in jail.
The court ordered that the sentence on counts one to 40 run concurrently with the sentence on counts 41 to 79.
This means she will serve six years in prison.
Magistrate Jurg Vivier presided over the case and prosecutor Themba Maluleke represented the state.
