“G-7” alleged fraud case postponed as lawyer fails to show up in Court

The case against six former employees of the Department of Labour’s (DoL) Compensation Fund (CF) and a Doctor alleged to have defrauded the State was today 12 April 2012 postponed in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court after a ‘no show’ by a lawyer representing one of the accused.

The seven alleged fraud accused are: Maxwell Ramaphosa, Samuel Mfeleng, Kgabo Methi, Debbie Venter, Tendani Mukomafhedzi and Billy Ramskin - who are all former civil servants and Doctor Abel Diokana.

The lawyer who failed to turn up in Court represents Mukomafhedzi.

Magistrate Mariette Louw postponed the matter to May 30. Louw expressed her disappointed at the no show by one of the attorneys without an explanation, saying the attornies representing the accused were the ones who agreed on the date of the next Court appearance.

At their last appearance on March 8 Louw had postponed the case to allow the accused to sort out their legal representation

The seven accused face four counts of fraud and two counts of money laundering amounting to R949 175, 11. The defendants are out on a warning.

The six former employees of the DoL’s CF are alleged to have connived and recruited Diokana whom they allegedly channelled the fraudulent pay outs to his account.

Meanwhile, in another matter in which Ramaphosa and Mfeleng are out on a warning, their case was postponed to May 3. In the case they face three counts of fraud and four counts of money laundering involving R467 150, 58. In this matter their fellow co-accused and fraudster Dr Jones Mothemola Modau pleaded guilty last month in the Pretoria Specialised Crime Court before their matter was transferred to the Magistrate Court as part of a separation of trial.

Ramaphosa and Mfeleng are also intertwined in another fraud case where they face 22 counts of fraud totalling more than R2, 1million and 27 counts of money laundering.

The Compensation Fund is a public entity under the authority of Department of Labour. The Fund provides for compensation of workers as a result of disability, illness and death resulting from work-related injuries and diseases.