• For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.

A 60-year-old former fleet administrator at Volkswagen South Africa has been convicted on a whopping 595 counts of fraud for a scheme to overpay an auto body repair company.

Christo de Jager was found guilty in the Gqeberha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court earlier this week. He has not yet been sentenced.

According to the Hawks, De Jager managed to get away with his fraudulent scheme for seven years,

Between 2014 and 2021, he conspired with a company called Autotrust to defraud the German car giant by paying out fraudulent invoices for work that had not been done.

Autotrust, which had been contracted to do repair work for Volkswagen, submitted the falsified invoices to De Jager, who used his role as an administrator to get the payments through.

He received "regular" kickbacks from Autotrust for the money he sent their way.

De Jager’s fraud was exposed after an internal audit discovered discrepancies in the invoices submitted. The Hawks said that Volkswagen lost around R12 million before the scam was uncovered.

De Jager was eventually arrested in March 2023. He was found guilty on Monday and will be sentenced on 22 May.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred

Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.