Former SARS employee jailed for fraud

A FORMER South African Revenue Service (SARS) employee and registered tax practitioner has been sentenced to an effective six years in prison after being found guilty of a large-scale VAT fraud scheme involving falsified tax returns and forged supporting documents.

- WENDY DONDOLO

Michael Benson was sentenced in the Bellville Regional Court following his conviction on multiple charges, including fraud, forgery, uttering, and failing to keep proper records.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the offences were carried out over a period of 25 months.

NPA regional spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the court found that Benson had "submitted eleven fraudulent VAT201 returns to SARS, claiming refunds based on wholly fabricated information".

When asked to provide supporting documentation, Benson escalated the deception. Ntabazalila said that he "committed further fraud by producing forged invoices, bank statements, and municipal contracts, thereby committing further offences of forgery and uttering".