By Lisalee Solomons
A former finance manager, Prishne Khan, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for committing large-scale fraud and theft while employed in the finance industry. Khan, 37, was arrested last week at her new home in Nigel, Gauteng, after evading authorities for over a year.
The arrest came after police discovered that Khan had been hiding inside a deep freezer to avoid capture. She was sentenced on Monday at the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria after pleading guilty to 63 counts of fraud that led to financial losses exceeding R3 million.
Khan, who had been on the run since 2023, had absconded during her trial after being found guilty of the charges. Her fraudulent actions were discovered over a series of incidents spanning from 2016 to 2018.
Khan’s crimes began when she was employed as a bookkeeper at the Northerns Cricket Union from 2015 until January 2017. During her time there, she altered banking details on multiple invoices, redirecting payments to accounts controlled by her husband and cousin. These fraudulent activities resulted in her stealing R350,000 over a six-week period in 2016.
When her actions were uncovered, Khan resigned from the Northerns Cricket Union and moved on to a new role as the finance manager at Customer Loyalty Consultants (PTY) Ltd. From March to September 2017, she used her position to access the company’s financial systems and misappropriated funds by rerouting payments into accounts she controlled.
Although she initially lacked the necessary access to execute payments, Khan received a critical “token” from a colleague after leaving the company. This allowed her to authorize and release payments totaling over R3 million between September 2017 and March 2018.
Khan’s fraud was detected when the bank alerted Customer Loyalty Consultants to suspicious financial transactions. Subsequent investigations led to her arrest and court appearance in May 2018. Khan’s first court hearing resulted in her guilty plea, where she attributed her actions to financial hardship, claiming that she needed the money to purchase a car for her husband.
In addition to the 10-year sentence for fraud, Khan was also given an additional four-year jail term for theft, which will run concurrently with her original sentence.
Khan’s fraudulent activities not only left her employers and colleagues facing financial hardship but also serve as a reminder of the devastating effects of embezzlement in the workplace. Her case has highlighted the importance of maintaining rigorous financial oversight and systems to prevent similar schemes in the future.
