How a typing error exposed alleged R600,000 fraud in Nxuba school fundraising

Like many other sponsors, a Nxuba (formerly Cradock) businessman made regular financial contributions to the Marlow Agricultural High School.

The money was intended to help the school to buy equipment and supplies, finance sporting and other events, ease the burden of financially needy students who required boarding or tuition fees or assist wherever the school needed additional funding.

But in May 2023, a slip of the businessman’s finger, a typo that changed his intended contribution to a much larger amount, led to the discovery of a series of suspicious transactions linked to Marlow’s former marketing agent, Deon Gerber. It is alleged he redirected more than R600,000 away from school’s coffers and into his personal bank account.

According to the charge sheet before the town’s regional court, Gerber was employed between 2015 and 2022 as the school’s marketer to market the school to prospective pupils and obtain additional funds for the school by securing sponsorships.

Gerber has yet to plead before the court, with his next appearance scheduled for April.

His post at the school did not fall under the Department of Education, like most teachers, but was a position created by the school’s governing body (SGB). Gerber’s salary and travel allowances were therefore paid by the SGB.

All donor funding he obtained was supposed to be paid into the account of the Fish River Educational Trust, a trust established specifically for the purpose of managing Marlow’s finances.

In October 2022, according to a post on Marlow’s Facebook page, Gerber’s tenure at the school came to an end.

The post stated that his departure was in line with the “economic and structural requirements of the school”.

However, his alleged scheme only came to light seven months later.

How alleged fraud was discovered

In May 2023, one of the school’s regular sponsors, a businessman from a prominent family in Nxuba, intended to make a donation of R12,750 into the school’s account.

Only after the transaction was completed did he realise his mistake – he had accidentally added a second two, paying an amount of R122,750 into the account number Gerber had provided to him.

It is alleged that the businessman approached the school to ask that the additional funds (R110,000) be returned to his account. However, the school’s account showed no record of the transaction.

The charge sheet states that the account number provided to the businessman was in fact Gerber’s personal Capitec account, and not that of the Fish River Educational Trust. The school reported the matter to the police for further investigation.

During the investigation, it came to light that Gerber allegedly provided three different Capitec account numbers to various donors between 2017 and 2022.

Documents before court listed 36 transactions into Gerber’s accounts that were allegedly intended for Marlow.

The transaction amounts varied between between R5,250 and R50,000 and totalled R646,965.

“At all times relevant, the accused approached the sponsors as listed [in the charge sheet] in his capacity as a Marlow marketer. They were brought under the impression that the money they so donated/sponsored was to be exclusively used for the benefit of Marlow and its learners [...] and that the bank account numbers provided by the accused belonged to Marlow,” the charge sheet states.

The two largest contributors whose funds were allegedly redirected are prominent agricultural services providers BKB (R182,750) and Cradock Seed (R131,000).

The businessman whose query launched the investigation is reported to have paid more than R35,000 into Gerber’s accounts. The payment that led to the discovery of the alleged fraud was made after Gerber was no longer working at Marlow.

Following the police investigation, Gerber was summonsed to appear before the Nxuba Regional Court in September 2022 to face fraud charges.

During his most recent court appearance on Monday, 2 March, the matter was postponed until April for consultation.

Eastern Cape education department spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima said the department is aware of the incident and the ongoing court matter. He added that it is a very unique case, and the department is not aware of any similar incidents elsewhere.

Department condemns alleged fraud

“An incident like this is very concerning for the department. However, we are not in a position to provide comprehensive comment at this stage as the school never submitted a formal report regarding the incident.”

Mtima said that because the accused was employed by the SGB and not the department, the school opted to report the matter directly to the police and no formal submissions were made to department officials.

“Based on the limited information we currently have, the department can do little more than condemn such acts.

“They are unethical and immoral, and we urge schools to work with the department to ensure that such incidents do not happen again. It puts the school’s leadership and the department in general in a bad light,” Mtima said.

Repeated attempts to reach the SGB for comment were unsuccessful. DM