A few years ago, Deb Bloomberg’s mother received an alarming call from someone claiming to be an attorney for her granddaughter.
The man said the granddaughter was in jail for causing a near-fatal car accident and would have to spend the night there unless she sent $8,000.
The only thing that saved Bloomberg’s mother, then in her early 90s, from having money stolen in the scam was being unable to get the cash quickly enough. The criminal moved on.
Seeing scams affect her mother, friends and former colleagues spurred Bloomberg — a 74-year-old retired educator in Watertown outside of Boston — to attend an AARP Massachusetts fraud education talk. Immediately after, she signed up to become one of about 30 AARP volunteers who give fraud prevention presentations at senior centers and in other community settings.
It’s “extremely rewarding … to help people fight against criminals who have…
CLICK HERE to read the FULL Fighting Fraud in Massachusetts – AARP article.
THE ISUZU MOTORS PAYROLL FRAUD (GQEBERHA, SA)
Date: February 16, 2026 Perpetrator: Natasja Slabbert (42)
Case Description: In a case that hit home for the Eastern Cape business community, Natasja Slabbert, a payroll administrator at Isuzu Motors South Africa’s Struandale plant, was arrested for an alleged R10.5 million fraud. The scheme, which began surfacing in late 2024, exploited the very systems designed to manage employee compensation. Slabbert allegedly manipulated payroll records to create false entries that appeared as legitimate deductions and contributions on employee payslips. In reality, these “deductions” were being diverted into her personal bank account.
The fraud was only uncovered after diligent employees noticed that their net “take-home” pay was significantly lower than expected, despite the gross amounts on their payslips remaining high. Following a thorough probe by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team and the NPA’s Specialised Commercial Crime Unit, it was discovered that in August 2024 alone, over R626,000 was unlawfully transferred. Slabbert was granted bail of R5,000 on February 17, 2026, and the case has been postponed to later in the month for further legal proceedings. This case highlights the critical need for “segregation of duties” in payroll departments, as a single point of failure allowed for the systematic siphoning of millions over nearly two years.
Link to Original: PE Express – Isuzu Payroll Fraud