The Second Grade Magistrate Court in Phalombe has sentenced 23-year-old Maxwell James to five years in prison for producing counterfeit money and obtaining funds through false pretense.
State prosecutor Sub Inspector Dingiswayo Mbepula revealed that James made a K 155,000 transaction with an Airtel money agent at Mulomba trading center on December 9, 2023, using counterfeit K5,000 banknotes.
James pleaded guilty and appealed for leniency as a first-time offender, but Magistrate Steve Samati emphasized the gravity of financial fraud and handed down the sentence as a deterrent to others.
