Three women and their male accomplice are behind bars for kidnappings and fake identifications at morgues to get cash from life insurance claims.

Hawks spokesperson Capt Christopher Singo said their trail of fraud, identity theft, attempted murder, kidnapping and money laundering dates back to between 2017 and 2019.

Malefu Mary Mokoena, 22, Maneo Paulina Mokoena, 45, Mannini Elizabeth Mphetheng, 45, and Tumelo Isaac Moeletsane, 35, were arrested in November 2019 after they had taken a corpse from the Phuthaditjhaba forensic pathology services, he said.

“An investigation was then conducted by the Hawks where [officers] discovered that the accused were taking policies with different insurance companies. They would go to different government mortuaries and identify those people as the people they had covered on their policies. After taking these corpses, they would then go and claim the policies using fake identities.

“It was discovered that they were also kidnapping people, and claimed that a person was dead to claim from the policies.”

Their nefarious actions resulted in claims totalling R430,000.

Singo said the Harrismith magistrate's court has sentenced Maneo Mokoena to 16 years' direct imprisonment and Malefu Mokoena to five years' direct imprisonment. Mphetheng and Moeletsane were both sentenced to eight years' direct imprisonment.

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