R8.7-million SA Post Office employee fraud case heads to court
As the state entity flounders, the four accused in an R8.7-million SA Post Office employee fraud case have their day in a Free State court.
An SA Post Office employee fraud case involving four in the Free State will be heard in Tseseng Magistrate’s Court today. Last Friday, four SA Post Office employees faced a bail hearing for money laundering and fraud in contravention of the Cyber Crime Act and Electronic Communication Transaction Act.
SA POST OFFICE EMPLOYEE FRAUD
Implicated in the alleged SA Post Office employee fraud, reports IOL, are the following accused. Matshediso Merriam Mokoena (35), Ntswaki Chrestinah Sefako (38), Mabuti Johannes Mbongo (45) and Sabi Letta Mokwena (58).
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Fikiswa Matoti of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) said the accused in the SA Post Office employee fraud were from the Tseseng Post Office. And the four were responsible for SAPO losses of more than R8.7 million.
BUSINESS RESCUE
The timing of this SA Post Office employee fraud will raise the ire of many as the government institution battles through business rescue. Thousands of SAPO staff have lost their jobs and thousands more will have to survive on significant salary cuts.
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According to The Citizen, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has accused the government of subjecting SA Post Office employees to ‘neglect’. This is ahead of a retrenchment of 6 000 workers. SAPO is understood to be R9-billion in debt.
PROFITEERING AND SALARY CUTS
“SAPO workers have had to endure 40% salary cuts, while mismanagement and corruption continues unabated. It is nothing short of scandalous to witness the neglect and disdain to which 14 000 SAPO workers have been subjected to,” said COSATU.
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The workers union encouraged law enforcement agencies to investigate the state-run entity. It is understood the SA Post Office employee fraud was masterminded between 2020 and 2022. From the Tseseng Post Office, the accused performed false SASSA transactions. Bogus beneficiaries obtained grants illegally with unique numbers.
MISAPPROPRIATING FUNDS
Matoti from the Hawks says the SAPO employees inflated the SASSA amounts it accounted for. And the excess funds were transferred into bank accounts of the accused and known associates instead.
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Total payments ranging from R335 000 to R7.5 million were transferred into the accused’s bank accounts. In the process, the Tseseng Post Office suffered a total loss of over R8.7 million. Following last week’s bailing hearing, the case goes ahead today (Monday 22 January 2024).
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