Fraudster may lose assets

Published Jan 17, 2012

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Assets belonging to a physiotherapist convicted of defrauding the labour department may be seized, the department said on Tuesday.

Jury Sehunoe, based in Rustenburg, was found guilty of defrauding the department's Compensation Fund of more than R5 million last year.

He was scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday.

However, sentencing had been postponed to March 28 by the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court, said department spokesman Shadrack Mashalaba.

The Asset Forfeiture Unit applied to conduct an inquiry into Sehunoe's asset base and to seize his assets in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.

This needed to be done before Sehunoe was sentenced, Mashalaba said.

Sehunoe pleaded guilty to 15 counts of fraud and 26 counts of money laundering in October.

His co-defendants Maxwell Ramaphosa and Samuel Mfeleng are former civil servants who previously worked for the fund.

The trials have been separated.

Ramaphosa and Mfeleng will be tried in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court. They have not yet pleaded.

The three men allegedly made payments from the fund for work that had not been performed.

The fund provides compensation for workers who are injured and suffer from diseases contracted during their employment. It also covers people who die from these injuries or diseases. - Sapa

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