Couple convicted for R10 million Covid-19 Ters fraud

A Gauteng-based couple has been convicted of defrauding the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF)  Covid-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (Covid-19 Ters) out of more than R10 million.

37-Year-old Morko Moremi and his 34-year-old wife Treasure Moremi, who were directors at Denmeng Trading, were recently found guilty of fraud by the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.

The couple had applied for Covid-19 Ters for 553 workers, but they only had 22 employees on their payroll. 

“Joint efforts by the UIF’s investigators, law enforcement agencies at the Fusion Centre such as the HAWKS, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), and the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) led to the couple’s successful arrest and conviction,” said the Labour Department in a statement.

The Moremis are scheduled to be sentenced on 17 May 2022.

The department said this latest conviction comes against the backdrop of a recent court appearance of two separate suspects in relation to receiving R2.7 million from the UIF.

They too allegedly failed to use the money in line with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with the UIF.

The UIF MOU requires that the Covid-19 Ters monies be paid over to the qualifying workers applied for.

UIF Commissioner Teboho Maruping has issued a stern warning to those who attempt to defraud the system.

“They must know that they will be arrested and punished for their heinous actions,” he said.

“Those who have helped themselves to funds earmarked for workers during the lockdown should always remember that the law is creeping towards them and they will not have any peace. 

“We will not tolerate the siphoning of workers’ benefits by unscrupulous individuals. All fraudsters are on notice and we hope more suspects are arrested and sent straight to jail,” Maruping vowed.

To date, there have been four convictions of individuals who have defrauded the UIF of Covid-19 Ters funds, and 15 more cases have been referred to the SIU for further investigation.

In 2020, the Fund embarked on the “follow the money” project where close to R900 million was recovered.

The department said that the project is expected to resume in April 2022 with the appointment of audit firms.

Compiled by Narissa Subramoney

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