Eleven suspects including SASSA employees have appeared in court on charges of cybercrime, fraud, and theft.
Image: Screenshot
The bail application of 11 people arrested for allegedly defrauding the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) will on Wednesday continue before the Lenasia Magistrate's Court in Joburg.
The 11, who include eight Sassa officials, are charged in connection with a R260 million Sassa card fraud scheme.
The bail application was on Tuesday rolled over to Wednesday.
IOL reported on Tuesday that one of the suspects, Phiwe Mkhuzangwe, pleaded for release on bail, telling the court that she intends to plead not guilty to the charges, and she would like to be released so that she can take care of her mother who is a cancer patient.
"My mother, who is a cancer patient, is dependent on me. Even though I was told by my colleagues that I was wanted by the police, I did not flee and have no intention of evading trial, and I am no danger to the public," Mkhuzangwe stated in her affidavit.
Charges against the 11 accused have increased to over 1,300 counts of theft, fraud, and cybercrime.
Last month, IOL reported that five accused, who are employees of Sassa, had been arrested. The five were identified as Phumelele Myeza, 37; Paul Bones, 49; Keamogetswe Irene Ledwaba, 49; Dlamini, 30; and Mkhuzangwe, 37.
Police pounced on Sassa offices in Joburg CBD last month and arrested three grant administrators on fraud charges linked to the R260 million fraud
Image: Screengrab
Bones, Dlamini, and Mkhuzangwe were arrested within a SASSA branch in Johannesburg on March 14, while Ledwaba was taken into custody at her residence in Soweto. Myeza surrendered to the authorities voluntarily.
Some of the accused people who had been previously arrested include Shumani Khwerana, 35, Nkhensani Sharon Maluleke, 28, Tshilidzi Ramaphosa, 34, and Ethiopian national Ebenezer Tilahyn, 29.
The arrests were a result of a meticulous investigation, which revealed that the suspects had been withdrawing large amounts of cash from over 150 fraudulent Sassa and bank cards at a Shoprite supermarket in Soweto in February.
In their separate bail applications, the Sassa officials denied having participated in the elaborate R260 million fraud scheme. They also indicated that they wish to plead not guilty to the more than 1,300 charges levelled against them.
IOL
Related Topics: