Online Reporter
Trish Mukwazo, [email protected]
TWO former employees of Allied Timbers (Pvt) Ltd have appeared in court for allegedly defrauding the company of US$29 000 through a fake invoicing scheme.
Bridget Nyahoda (29) and Shannah Dzunzi (23), both from Mutare, appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mrs Dambudzo Malunga, facing 11 counts of fraud. The duo was remanded in custody to March 6. They are being represented by Mr Tinashe Dzipe of Morris-Davies and Company.
Nyahoda was employed as a sales representative, while Dzunzi worked as an invoicing clerk.
The court heard that the two allegedly colluded to create fraudulent invoices and reuse old receipts to make it appear as if customers had paid for timber purchases.
According to the prosecution, led by Mr Owen Mugari, Dzunzi generated fake receipts, which Nyahoda then used to authorise the dispatch of timber without legitimate proof of payment.
Ms Patience Kasese, the dispatch clerk, was instructed to release the timber based on these falsified documents.
The court was told that Nyahoda’s responsibilities included supervising the sales team and assisting customers with purchases, while Dzunzi was responsible for invoicing customers who had made payments and ensuring their receipts were processed before they could collect their purchases from the dispatch clerk.
The fraudulent activities allegedly began on June 23 last year, when Nyahoda and Dzunzi devised a plan to siphon funds from the company.
“To further their scheme, Nyahoda raised a fake invoice, OP/1060934, to suggest that timber worth US$5 196 had been purchased. She then falsely endorsed receipt number SCD552 as proof of payment,” said Mr Mugari.
Just four days later, Dzunzi allegedly created another fake invoice, OP/1061759, purporting that a customer had purchased timber worth US$5 056.
“She then fraudulently used receipt number SCD608 as proof of payment, knowing fully well that the same receipt had previously been used for a separate transaction amounting to US$25 on invoice number QP/1061193,” said the prosecutor.
Dzunzi allegedly handed over these fake invoices to Nyahoda, who then authorised the release of timber from the dispatch without genuine payment.
The fraudulent scheme continued undetected until an internal audit was conducted at the company’s Bulawayo branch in July last year. The audit exposed the financial irregularities, leading to a police report and the subsequent arrest of Nyahoda and Dzunzi.
None of the stolen funds have been recovered.
