Five people appeared before the Orkney Magistrate’s Court in North West, facing charges of fraud and money laundering, after a man was conned for R290,000.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, identified the five accused as Tehogo Kgang, 31; Tebogo Chosi, 32; Tlale Tshabalala, 46; Lebogang Sedumedi, 47; and Zamile Maroti, 51.
The five allegedly conned a man who had received over R800,000 from the Road Accident Fund (RAF), according to North West provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Lieutenant Colonel Tinyiko Mathebula.
“On July 16, 2021, the complainant allegedly received over R800,000 payment from the Road Accident Fund. In the same month, the complainant was reportedly approached by three suspects, who claimed to be employees of the Road Accident Fund,” said Mathebula.
“The suspects allegedly informed the complainant (the RAF beneficiary) to install a banking app on his phone so that he could access the remaining money from RAF. After installing the app, the suspects allegedly transferred an amount of R290,000 from the complainant's account into their bank accounts.”
Following an investigation by the Hawks' serious commercial crime investigation unit, Mathebula said a warrant of arrest was issued against the five suspects.
The warrant of arrest was executed by the Hawks on Monday.
After the arrest, the four accused people then appeared before the Orkney Magistrate’s Court, where their matter was postponed to Thursday for formal bail application.
Meanwhile, North West provincial head of the Hawks, Major General Patrick Mbotho has welcomed the arrest of the five, and he saluted the investigating’s team's efforts to solve the crime.
Last year, IOL reported that the Road Accident Fund said it has successfully managed to halt over R2.6 billion worth of fraudulent claims from being paid over the last three financial years.
The exact amount was R2,605,641,281.07.
“A total of 713 claims were repudiated in 2022/2023, 448 in 2021/22, and 4,172 in 2020/21,” the RAF said in a statement.
“In the past three financial years, there has been a total of 32 arrests: 15 in 2022/23, 12 in 2021/22, and five in 2020/2021. The highest sentence over this period was a 12-year direct imprisonment of an attorney.”
It said this achievement was as a result of work done by the RAF Forensic Investigation Department in partnership with various law enforcement agencies.
IOL
