The group of seven former public servants including a physiotherapist alleged to have defrauded the Department of Labour’s (DoL) Compensation Fund (CF) are expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday (April 9).
The alleged fraud accused include: Maxwell Ramaphosa, Samuel Mfeleng, Kgabo Methi, Debbie Venter, Tendani Mukomafhedzi and Billy Ramskin (all former employees of Department of Labour’s CF), and a physiotherapist Abel Diokana.
The “Group of Seven” faces four counts of fraud and two counts of money laundering amounting to R949 175, 11. The accused are out on a warning and are yet to plead.
The ‘septet’ is alleged have been working as a syndicate. It is alleged the six former employees of the Department of Labour are alleged to have connived to by-pass internal systems and recruited Diokana to submit claims and banking details for fraudulent pay-outs to be made to his account from CF.
The seven working together, are alleged to have siphoned Department of Labour by channelling the fraudulently claimed funds into Diokana’s personal account and that of his private business to disguise the transfers which were later shared at a secret location.
In papers before the Court it is alleged that Diokana did not render services to patients for claims submitted.
The matter was first handled at the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court. It was on 12 December 2011 transferred to the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court. Accused number one and two (Ramaphosa and Mfeleng) are also entangled in two other alleged fraud cases of defrauding the Department of Labour. In the first case, they are accused of defrauding the Department of Labour R2,1 million.
They are out on a bail of R3 000.
In the second case, they are part of a quartet including a physiotherapist. In this case they (Ramaphosa and Mfeleng) are alleged to have defrauded the department R467 150,58. In this matter they are out on a warning.
The Compensation Fund is a public entity under the authority of Department of Labour. The Fund provides cover for workers injured during work, for illness and death resulting or sustained during work.
