Hotel accountant to appear in R10m fraud case

Cape Town - A woman accused of
defrauding the Raya Hotel Group was due
to appear in the Bellville Specialised
Commercial Crime Court on Wednesday.
Mymona Creighton faced 250 counts of
fraud involving R10 263 813 and one
charge of money laundering involving the
Raya Hotel Group, which owns the
Capetonian Hotel in Cape Town and the
Balmoral Hotel in Durban.
Creighton began working for the hotel
group 10 years ago as the assistant to
the accountant and seven years later was
promoted to the post of accountant.
She was based at the head office in Cape
Town and was responsible for the
payment of the group's creditors, and had
to present cheques for payment to the
group's management for signature.
The prosecution alleged that she either
deleted or changed the details of the
payees on cheques, after payment had
been authorised by management.
It was alleged the cheques would then be
made payable to fictitious people, and the
proceeds channelled into her personal
bank accounts.
To cover her tracks, Creighton was alleged
to have recorded the correct cheque
details on management payment
schedules, but intercepted and destroyed
bank-processed cheques as they arrived
back from the bank.
SAPA