FUGITIVE FRAUDSTER GIVEN 15 YEARS’ JAIL

LYNDA Bedier, the fugitive fraudster who swindled her employers out of R3.7 million, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Bedier, 57, and her son Jayson, 22, made headlines last year when they fled Gauteng after allegedly defrauding her German-based equipment company over several months.

Bedier’s crimes were reportedly only noticed after she had failed to arrive at work for several days and unusual payments were picked up on the company’s bank accounts.

Forensic investigation firm IRS and one of its lead investigators, Andre van Wyk, spent four months hunting for the pair – finally tracking them to a guest house in Port Elizabeth.

Van Wyk told the Saturday Star at the time the pair had returned to Joburg by bus late one night, and an informant had revealed that they would be visiting the Karaglen Shopping Centre in Edenvale.

This week, Van Wyk revealed that after numerous court appearances, the charges against Jayson were dropped, as his mother insisted he had nothing to do with the commission of the fraud.

However, Bedier pleaded guilty and received a 15-year sentence, which she is serving at a Joburg prison.

It’s likely that her previous fraud conviction from 2001 was a major aggravating factor in her sentencing, and according to van Wyk, she is not appealing against her conviction or sentence.

It appears Bedier gambled away most of what she had stolen, with only R1.6m recovered from her bank account by means of a preservation order.

“No other funds were recovered as she had splashed out on casinos,” said Van Wyk.