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- A senior Eastern Cape Department of Education employee has received a wholly suspended sentence of two years for insurance fraud.
- Senior education specialist Sizile Witness Mateta lodged fraudulent funeral claims at 1Life and Old Mutual in cahoots with an insurance broker and a police reservist.
- The broker, reservist and five other fraudulent beneficiaries roped in by the broker are expected to be sentenced on 9 November.
The Gqeberha Regional Court sentenced senior education specialist Sizile Witness Mateta, who defrauded insurance companies of R45 000 through false claims, to two years behind bars, wholly suspended, and ordered him to repay the insurers.
The Hawks said Mateta, who works for the Eastern Cape Department of Education, falsely claimed R45 000 in insurance payouts - R30 000 from 1Life and R15 000 from Old Mutual - in 2015.
This after his insurance broker, working in cahoots with a police reservist, used the reservist's second ID to commit the insurance fraud and roped in others too.
"The police reservist is alleged to have had two ID books with different dates of birth, hence his willingness to use one in the orchestration of the fraudulent activities.
"The broker is reported to have approached five of his insurance clients of which Mateta was one, to take death cover policies for the reservist and lodge a death claim after the waiting period had lapsed," Hawks spokesperson Captain Yolisa Mgolodela said.
The fraudulent beneficiaries were the broker, his daughter, the police reservist, a former police officer, another member of the public and a funeral parlour director and his clerk.
READ | Mthatha Magistrate's Court clerks sentenced for ghost claims
The funeral parlour director falsely claimed the body had been collected and buried by his company.
The scheme came to an end when a forensic auditor at 1Life lodged a complaint with the Hawks in East London in March 2017.
Mateta pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Friday.
His lawyer requested his trial be separated from the other seven who pleaded not guilty.
"He was further ordered to pay Old Mutual the R7 000 balance outstanding as he had already paid R8 000 as a refund for the R15 000 fraudulent claim. Mateta has since paid 1Life the R30 000 he was paid for the fraudulent claim," Mgolodela said.
The remaining accused are expected to return to court on 9 November.
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