MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers sent a letter to U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Acting Secretary Keith Sonderling and President Donald J. Trump, renewing his request for the department to take critical action to restore approximately $29 million in federal grant funding Wisconsin needs to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse and complete the Evers Administration’s years-long efforts to modernize the state’s unemployment insurance (UI) system. On the heels of the recent departure of the former U.S. DOL Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, this latest letter comes after several previous letters from Gov. Evers to the Trump Administration have gone largely unaddressed. The governor even went so far as to send a letter to appeal directly to President Trump in February, however, to date, this letter has gone unanswered.
After the coronavirus pandemic overwhelmed Wisconsin’s antiquated unemployment system…
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