Yeukai Karengezeka
Court Correspondent
Two sales agents appeared in court on Monday, facing charges of fraud and money laundering following allegations that they orchestrated a scheme involving fictitious claim forms to defraud their employer of over US$23 000.
The accused, Wayne Juawo (22) and Jacob Mutambirwa (22), were arraigned before Harare magistrate Ms Ruth Moyo.
They were both granted US$200 bail each and are scheduled to return to court on August 28. The complainant in the matter is Goldenclem Credit, represented by the company’s operations manager, Mr Terrence Taka.
Prosecutor Mr Takudzwa Jambawu told the court that between January 2025 and May 2025, Juawo and Mutambirwa allegedly created fraudulent claim forms using the credentials of various civil servants.
These fake claims were fed into the company’s system, resulting in the release of products purportedly to genuine clients.
However, instead of delivering the products to the clients, the duo allegedly converted them to personal use.
To conceal their actions, the accused reportedly deleted the fictitious claim forms from the computer system to prevent salary deductions by the Salary Services Bureau (SSB), which would have flagged the transactions.
The court heard that on July 19, 2025, Juawo was arrested, and a search at his house led to the recovery of several items that had been fraudulently acquired.
These included a headboard, 3 television sets, a solar system, a chainsaw and one partum printer.
The total prejudice suffered by Goldenclem Credit due to Juawo’s actions was US$16 273.
However, goods worth only US$4 000 were recovered. On the same day, Mutambirwa was also apprehended and a search at his house resulted in the recovery of two sofas.
Goldenclem Credit suffered a loss of US$7 717 due to Mutambirwa’s actions and goods worth only US$1 500 were recovered.
The fraudulent scheme cost Goldenclem Credit US$23 990 and only US$5 500 worth of goods were recovered during the investigation.