Man Arrested for Defrauding Old Mutual Out of R1.7 Million by Faking His Own Death With Help of Wife in 1999

• A Gauteng man who allegedly faked his own death in 1999 and his wife have been arrested by the Hawks
• After claim Robbie Smith died in a fatal car accident, Alice, his wife, lodged a R1.7 million claim at Old Mutual Insurance
• The couple were found laying low in Knysna, where Smith assumed a new name and opened a repair shop

KNYSNA - A Gauteng man who allegedly defrauded Old Mutual Insurance insurance out of R1.7 million by faking his own death appeared in the Knysna Magistrate's Court on Wednesday, 9 October.

Robbie Smith and his wife Alice were living in Benoni when they hatched the scheme and pretended Smith died in a car accident. According to Hawks spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha, the couple registered an insurance claim which Old Mutual paid out.

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After receiving the payment, the couple quickly fled Gauteng for KwaZulu-Natal and eventually laid down roots in Knysna, where they hid for over 20 years.

Smith assumed the identity of Chris Boshoff and opened a vehicle repair shop, Knysna auto repairs. His wife Alice also worked at the repair shop, doing their admin, News24 reported.

The house of cards came tumbling down when Old Mutual was tipped off in 2020 that Smith was still alive and the insurance scheme had possibly been scammed.

Following an internal probe, a fraud docket was opened and handed over to the Hawks' serious commercial crimes unit for investigation. The team tracked the couple to Knysna, which led to their subsequent arrest on Tuesday, 8 November.

According to TimesLIVE, The couple was arrested on insurance fraud and unlawful possession of firearms change. Ramovha said the couple would be transferred to a Gauteng court next week to face the fraud charge.

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South Africans react to the couples insurance fraud scheme

South Africans are eating the story up, with many suggesting it should be made into a Netflix documentary.

Here are some comments:

@ShareenSingh8 claimed:

"Huh - a different kind of crime in SA. Interesting for a change."

@Brettbenraphael quipped:

"What a happy couple."

@ProudlyMsTee said:

"He looks defeated. Like he's about to say "I told you this wasn't a good idea"

@LuyoloThando added:

"This is really one for the books. If they write one please let us know. It's an "Exclusive Books leather couch on a Sunday Morning with a Seattle Coffee in hand" type of story."

@KeithWilkie10 joked:

"Dad ! Is it really you?"

Family of kidnapped 8-year-old Cape Town girl pleads for safe return, citizens up in arms

In other news, Briefly News reported that the heartbroken family of an eight-year-old girl who was abducted in Cape Town on Friday, 4 November, is calling for her return.

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Abirah Dekhta was abducted while on her way to school in her lift club, and the incident left community members reeling. The Muslim Judicial Council alerted citizens about the kidnapping and asked people to pray for her return.

Speaking to News24, a family spokesperson told the publication that the family was shocked. He said the family had not received any updates or phone calls regarding the kidnapping.

Source: Briefly News