The Sunday News
Thembekile Ntuliki, Sunday News Reporter
A WOMAN from Gwanda who was employed as a cashier at Chicken Inn has been arrested after she allegedly defrauded the company of more than $1 million by falsifying receipts.
Babongiwe Moyo (38) last week appeared before Gwanda magistrate Ms Lerato Nyathi facing fraud charges involving $1 828 135.45. She was remanded in custody to 11 May for trail.
Presenting the State case, prosecutor Ms Zanele Sithole said from January to March, Moyo, who was a cashier at Chicken Inn Engen Garage branch was receiving cash from customers and she would make a transaction in the point of sale system indicating that payment would have been made through either Stanbic terminal, Cabs terminal, BancABC terminal, BancABC terminal or Glow garage branch, which she knew very well that were not directly linked or connected to the point of sale system.
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The court heard that Moyo would pocket the money and at the time of knocking off duty make a physical balancing of her cash up report of the cash sales and point of sale swipe transactions only, and not make physical balancing of the backup swipe machines.
It was heard that the shop manager at Engen branch would buy the idea and it went on until Moyo was transferred to Chicken Inn Glow branch on 13 March.
She then started to submit her cash up report without the merchant copies of the backup swipe transactions and giving an explanation that she was giving customers both copies.
Back up swipe machines are only to be used when there is a network challenge or failure on the integrated swipe machine which is directly linked to the point of sale system, but Moyo would use them even though there was network throughout the day to enable her to allegedly steal from the company, the court heard.
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The court heard that on 21 March, the shop manager, Ms Margaret Luwa, queried Moyo’s cash up report since the report was indicating that there was some back up swipe transaction made amounting to $22 560 when there was no network failure experienced during the day.
She requested for the merchant copy but Moyo claimed that she had given it to customers.
This prompted the shop manager to physically check from the backup swipe machines the transactions made, and there were no records of such transactions on it. This opened investigations and led to the arrest of Moyo.
Investigations by the Information Communication Technology department at Simbisa Brands also indicate that there was never such alleged network and technical breakdowns experienced during the period in question.
