Teacher swindles beverage firm of $90K

A 54-YEAR-OLD Gutu teacher and businessman allegedly swindled a Mpandawana-based beverages company of $90 000 through a wellplanned Ecocash scam.

Taitos Madzingo, a teacher at Mpandawana High School, used fake Ecocash transactions to defraud Hyper Distributors of Mpandawana Town of beverages for his Tiro Liquids Bottle Store.

Madzingo allegedly edited Ecocash text messages on his mobile phone several times for it to appear as if he had paid for beverages from Hyper Distributors and the distributor would release the orders destined for his bottle store.

He has since appeared before Masvingo provincial magistrate Mr Langton Ndokera facing fraud charges.

Madzingo was not asked to plead and was remanded to May 5 on $200 bail. He was advised to report once every Saturday at Gutu Criminal Investigations Department and not to interfere with State witnesses.

Prosecutor Mr Fidelicy Nyamukondiwa alleged that between June 14 last year and March 7 this year, Madzingo would edit Ecocash text messages purporting that he had received them from Econet as confirmation of payment to Hyper Distributors for purchase of beverages.

Madzingo was a regular customer at Hyper Distributors.

The court heard that Madzingo would send the messages from his mobile number 0772900433 to two phones belonging to two cashiers at the beverages supplying company, before advising them to give his workers the supplies.