Manager bags five years in jail for siphoning R4m from St John Ambulance

A former finance manager at the health-care training organisation, St John Ambulance has been sentenced to five years in jail for fraud.

53-year-old Anastasia Mariana Parkin admitted to stealing R4m from her employer’s bank account.

She appeared before the East London magistrate’s court on Monday where she was sentenced to five years in jail.

Hawks’ serious commercial crimes investigation team arrested Parkin following an investigation in December 2019.

Hawks spokesperson Brig Hangwani Mulaudzi on Tuesday explained the circumstances that led to the theft carried out by Parkin.

“Her duties included banking funds and payment of salaries and creditors.”

“She was the only authorised user of the computerised financial system used to reconcile all financial payments made by or received by her employer.”

“The investigation, which began in February 2019, revealed how she stole the funds by transferring them into her own account and those of her family members. The court found her guilty on 993 counts of fraud.”

She pleaded guilty on the charges against her in court.

Parkin said: “I admit  I misappropriated funds of St John. I effected electronic transfers by means of internet banking from the bank account of St John to my own bank account.”

It was later heard that the result of her fraudulent activities left St John East London office, based in Southernwood, broke.

The office could not pay staff salaries for months and had to borrow from other St John branches.