A medical doctor in Mbizana has been arrested and charged with fraud relating to R18m in claims made against the Road Accident Fund (RAF).
The RAF had already paid out R510,000 to claimants, but if the scam had not been uncovered, another 179 claimants would have been paid a total amount of R18,5m, reports AlgoaFM.
A spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Mthatha, Luxolo Tyali, said Dr Zonke Mrenqwa-Mazwi (42) made her first court appearance last Wednesday (16 February) and was granted bail of R10,000.
She is charged with submitting false Statutory Medical Reports (SMR) on behalf of claimants involved in at least nine vehicle accidents in Mbizana, Flagstaff and Port Shepstone, dating back to 2008.
Tyali says when claimants lodge a claim against the RAF, an SMR must be completed on a prescribed form by the medical practitioner who treated the deceased/injured persons. Mrenqwa-Mazwi allegedly supplied false information to attorneys, claiming on behalf of victims that she was the first medical practitioner to have treated them. Based on this, attorneys prepared and submitted fraudulent claims.
An investigation from the RAF revealed that in fact she had backdated the SMRs and had never seen, examined, or treated any of the claimants. The RAF then referred the matter to the Hawks, which led to her arrest.
The case was postponed to 28 March for a trial date to be set.
AlgoaFM article – EC Doctor arrested for RAF scam (Open access)
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Eastern Cape doctor guilty of defrauding Road Accident Fund
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