Mpofu, Chimombe owe US$3 million in goat fraud

Over three million dollars in court-ordered payback from a goat-scheme fraud remains completely untouched, and prison time could get longer.

Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe dodge restitution

• Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe, both jailed for defrauding a Presidential Goat Pass-On Scheme, owe a combined US$3,024,315.24.
• Mpofu got 22 years, with four of those conditional on coughing up US$2,060,250.60.
• Chimombe landed 17 years, and two are tied to repaying US$964,064.64.
• Zero dollars have reached the government so far.

How the US$87 million scam worked

• Blackdeck Livestock and Poultry Farming scored an US$87 million goat-supply contract using fake ZIMRA and NSSA certificates.
• Rural food-security programs for vulnerable groups were the intended beneficiaries.
• An advance worth roughly US$7.7 million got funneled into other accounts and parallel-market trades.
• Only 4,208 goats showed up out of an expected 85,000.

Supreme Court appeal on the horizon

• Zimbabwe's Supreme Court will hear their leave-to-appeal bid on Friday.
• Proceedings are set to happen in chambers.
• Suspended sentence portions could kick back in if restitution stays unpaid.
• An extension-of-time application is their only other lifeline.