Jail for teacher who faked cancer and stole

A once popular and respected IT teacher at a private school in Hilton just outside Pietermaritzburg‚ who lied that she had cancer and was dying‚ was sentenced to an effective five years in prison yesterday for stealing more than R2-million from the school through false invoicing.

Vindra Jaickaran Chhoteylal Moodley‚ 49‚ who taught at Cowan House Preparatory School‚ pleaded guilty in the Durban Commercial Crimes Court earlier this year to 74 counts of fraud.

She admitted she had lied to the school in 2014 that she had been diagnosed with cancer and only had four months to live.

She said that she had produced fake letters from doctors and a hospital oncology department which stated that she was dying from ovarian cancer.

She was placed on sick leave on full pay and the school had to employ another teacher‚ she said in her written plea.

But while sympathy for her was high‚ she was stealing from the school’s funds by producing false invoices for the purchase of computer hardware and software. The money was paid into her own bank accounts which she used to fund a luxurious lifestyle‚ including buying a house and a new car.

She claimed the money for this came from a trust fund set up by her father.

When she was caught out due to a mistake on one of the invoices, she tried to pin the blame on her son‚ whose computer she was using at the time.

In handing down a sentence of 10 years‚ half of which was suspended‚ magistrate Judy Naidoo said Moodley had betrayed those who trusted her.

“She claims that she was not in a proper state of mind‚ that she was mentally ill. But the court is not convinced of this.

“She set upon a profitable scheme which she thought she could get away with to feed her extravagance.

“She pleaded guilty because the writing was on the wall.”

Evidence during sentencing proceedings was that Moodley had been treated for major depression in the past‚ presented with bipolar disorder and had delusions of grandeur.

Former colleagues testified that she had been an excellent teacher and hockey coach and had a good relationship with her pupils.

There was an attempt to settle the matter and Moodley promised to repay some money‚ but the governing body had refused to drop the charges because it would set a bad example. –

‘She pleaded guilty because the writing was on the wall’ Judy Naidoo MAGISTRATE