According to Hawks spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha, Ronald Llewellyn Van Wyk, who was employed by Net1 as a Smart Life IT manager, allegedly created and uploaded 19 fictitious policies on behalf of deceased clients. "He would then approach the grieving families and request the deceased’s credentials with promises that his company will pay for the funeral groceries,“ Ramovha said. "With the sourced credentials, he reportedly manipulated the system and uploaded claims reflecting credit or backdated monthly premiums.
The money would be paid into the bank accounts of beneficiaries uploaded by him, and he would approach them afterwards, stating that there was an overpayment and they needed to return a certain amount back to him. "The Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Court granted Van Wyk bail of R5 000 pending his next appearance on May 10, 2023.“ Meanwhile, another fraud suspect will appear at the East London Magistrates Court today. The suspect was arrested by the East London Serious Corruption Investigation of the Hawks on April 4, 2023, on allegations of fraud. According to Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Bonnie Nxumalo, in August 2015, the suspect was walking near St. Patrick's hospital in Mbizana when she fell and sustained injuries to her ankle and elbow.
"It is further reported that she was then taken to St. Patrick's Hospital, where she was treated and transferred to Bedford Orthopaedic Hospital in Mthatha for further medical treatment,“ said Nxumalo. “On May 5, 2021, the suspect reportedly visited the Mbizana police station, where she allegedly opened a complaint of a hit-and-run by a motor vehicle.” Nxumalo said the suspect allegedly later filed a claim with the Road Accident Fund (RAF) for an amount of R 2.3 million.
The claim was processed by the RAF, but as documents were perused and analysed by its senior forensic investigator, discrepancies were noted and necessitated further scrutiny. "It was then discovered that the suspect was not involved in a hit-and-run accident but rather got injured while walking. The RAF paid an amount of R 12 833.73 to litigate against the claim," added Nxumalo.
