Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) boss Teboho Maruping wants people who defrauded the fund of millions through the Covid-19 temporary employee relief scheme (Ters) to be given longer jail time.
This week a Midrand couple, Refilwe Kgaje, 40, and her partner Isaac Phiri, 45, were sentenced by the Johannesburg specialised commercial crime court after being found guilty of pocketing R648,915.
Kgaje committed the crimes using her company, Pusoloso Engineering Services. She was hit with a fine of R100,000 and sentenced to three years for fraud and a further 15 years' imprisonment suspended for five years. Phiri was sentenced to 15 years for fraud.
Maruping was confident the couple’s sentencing would not be the last for employers who stole funds meant for employees who suffered salary cuts or were retrenched during the 2020 coronavirus outbreak.
“We will continue to round up and send fraudsters that stole from the working class to prison. I am pleased with the latest sentences and will insist on even higher sentences so that our message of no tolerance can be crystal clear.
“The day is coming when those who wittingly stole from distressed workers, will answer to the authorities. Working together with our partners, we will continue to pursue Covid-19 fraud cases until every one has been dealt with,” said Maruping.
UIF boss wants longer prison sentences for Covid-19 fraudsters who pocketed millions through Ters
Image: NPA
Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) boss Teboho Maruping wants people who defrauded the fund of millions through the Covid-19 temporary employee relief scheme (Ters) to be given longer jail time.
This week a Midrand couple, Refilwe Kgaje, 40, and her partner Isaac Phiri, 45, were sentenced by the Johannesburg specialised commercial crime court after being found guilty of pocketing R648,915.
Kgaje committed the crimes using her company, Pusoloso Engineering Services. She was hit with a fine of R100,000 and sentenced to three years for fraud and a further 15 years' imprisonment suspended for five years. Phiri was sentenced to 15 years for fraud.
Maruping was confident the couple’s sentencing would not be the last for employers who stole funds meant for employees who suffered salary cuts or were retrenched during the 2020 coronavirus outbreak.
“We will continue to round up and send fraudsters that stole from the working class to prison. I am pleased with the latest sentences and will insist on even higher sentences so that our message of no tolerance can be crystal clear.
“The day is coming when those who wittingly stole from distressed workers, will answer to the authorities. Working together with our partners, we will continue to pursue Covid-19 fraud cases until every one has been dealt with,” said Maruping.
Midrand couple sentenced for R600k UIF fraud
According to the UIF, about 12 people have been convicted and sentenced by courts for Covid-19 Ters crimes.
One of the cases involved a chartered accountant, Mark Jonathan Vorster, who was disbarred from practising after he was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for theft, fraud and money laundering related to the Ters.
Vorster submitted fraudulent UIF claims on behalf of five companies using his services and received just under R900,000 from the fraudulent transactions.
Another case was bookkeeper Lindelani Gumede who was sentenced to 20 years' direct imprisonment for Covid-19 Ters fraud amounting to R11m.
Gumede submitted fraudulent documents to claim the funds on behalf of four bakeries based in Gauteng during 2020.
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