VENTERSBURG – Three accused appeared briefly before the Ventersburg Magistrates’ Court on 18 June following their arrest on the same day. They face charges relating to fraud and money laundering.
The accused are Nicolette Sybil Goddefroy (50), company director Boitumelo Ivy Mthombeni (39), and SMS-Sechaba Mthombeni Supplier (Pty) Ltd. The alleged fraud resulted in a loss of R1 367 031,65 to the Department of Employment and Labour.
It is alleged that during 2021, the complainant approached Goddefroy for assistance in submitting a claim to the Department of Employment and Labour on behalf of his company. The complainant paid Goddefroy a service fee of R1 000.
After experiencing delays in the processing of the claim, the complainant made enquiries at the Department of Employment and Labour offices in Kroonstad. He was informed that a payment had already been processed in his name and paid to SMS-Sechaba Mthombeni Supplier (Pty) Ltd, a company based in Mafikeng, North West.
The matter was reported to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit in Welkom for investigation.
The investigation revealed that instead of submitting the complainant’s claim to the department after processing it, Goddefroy allegedly handed the documentation to Mthombeni. Mthombeni allegedly included the complainant’s details together with those of 355 other individuals purported to be employees of her company and submitted the application for consideration under the Covid-19 Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (TERS).
The Covid-19 TERS was established to provide relief to employees whose employers were affected by the pandemic and could not pay their salaries. The scheme aimed to protect jobs and provide income support to workers during the national lockdown and economic disruption caused by the pandemic.
The investigation by the Hawks uncovered the alleged scheme in which genuine claims were allegedly manipulated and included with fraudulent applications to unlawfully access TERS funds intended for employees affected by the pandemic.
The three accused were released on warning following their court appearance. The matter was postponed to 29 July for further proceedings.
The Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit continues to investigate cases of alleged fraud relating to Covid-19 relief schemes. The unit has been tasked with recovering funds lost through fraudulent claims and bringing those responsible to justice.
