Bogus tax practitioner, Faried van der Schyff, has been sentenced to three years’ direct imprisonment for defrauding the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to the tune of R60,000. 

Van der Schyff, 59, was sentenced in the Cape Town Regional Court on Friday.

Hawks spokesperson, Zinzi Hani, confirmed that he was convicted on five of the seven criminal charges he had faced. 

Van der Schyff is also a co-accused in the mammoth trial against Nafiz Modack and 14 others in the Western Cape High Court, where the accused face approximately 3,000 criminal charges, which include counts of murder, extortion, and contraventions of POCA.

Modack was recently also convicted in the Cape Town Regional Court on corruption charges. 

Van der Schyff was found guilty of income tax fraud, contravention of the Tax Administration Act, and contravention of the Correctional Services Act, and will serve three years in jail. It was reported that Van der Schyff committed fraud from 2016 to 2019 by operating illegally as a tax practitioner without being registered with SARS.

“The accused made clients believe that he was authorised to submit tax-related documents to SARS on behalf of the clients. Due to the accused’s criminal activities, SARS suffered actual loss of R60,000,” said Hani. 

Van der Schyff was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for fraud, two years for contravention of the Administration Act, and two years for the contravention of the Correctional Act for the illegal possession of a cellular device while in custody.

Hani said: “The Provincial Head of the Western Cape, Major General Mathipa Makgato, commended the collaboration between the team and SARS and said that this case highlights the importance of using registered tax practitioners and the consequences of engaging with individuals who promise unrealistic refunds.”

According to media reports, Van der Schyff and Modack were arrested alongside Ruwaida Modack, Yaseen Modack, Bashier Syce, Layla Bedderson, Dominique McLachlan, and Kulsum van der Schyff by the Hawks several years ago for allegedly defrauding SARS out of R46 million.

chevon.booysen@inl.co.za

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