SIU Welcomes Arrest of 2 Women Who Committed COVID-19 Fraud

• The Special Investigating Unit welcomed the arrest of 58-year-old Marx Maria Karien and 48-year-old Khahliso Isabel Motseremeli
• The two reportedly committed fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic and made off with a total of R1,3 million
• Karien defrauded the Unemployed Insurance Fund of over R1 million, while Motseremeli submitted fraudulent claims for the TERS fund

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered criminal activities, police investigations, police shootouts and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

JOHANNESBURG—The Special Investigating Unit has applauded the arrest of two women who allegedly committed fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fraud accused arrested

@RSASIU posted on X that Khahliso Isabel Motseremeli and Marx Maria Karien were recently arrested, appeared before the court and were granted bail. Motseremeli was employed at the Paballong Day Care Centre, where she reportedly submitted fraudulent Temporary Employment Relief Scheme claims to people who did not qualify. She reportedly defrauded the Unemployment Insurance Fund of over R36,000. She was granted R1000 bail.

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Conversely, Marx also made fraudulent TERS claims worth over R1 million, a fraction of which was paid to employees. She also appeared in court and was granted a R50000 bail. She had submitted false UIF claims worth R1,081,192.51 for individuals not employed by Pop Snax, the company she worked for.

"The SIU remains resolute in its mission to expose corruption and recover misused public funds. These arrests highlight the importance of holding accountable those who exploit systems meant to provide relief to vulnerable citizens during crises," the SIU said.

The SIU also said that in line with the SIU Act, it referred the evidence it collected to the National Prosecuting Authority for further action.

View the tweet here:

SIU welcomes sacking of NLC officials

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the Special Investigating Unit welcomed the sacking of two top National Lotteries Commission officials.

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The NLC fired its former Client Liaison Officer, Sibonelo Vilakazi, and the former CFO and acting COO, Sanele Dlamini.

An investigation it launched found that they committed severe misconduct in how the NLC funds were disbursed.

Source: Briefly News