State lawmakers are calling for stronger efforts to investigate fraud and abuse in North Carolina’s Medicaid system. A state House committee held a nearly three-hour hearing Thursday on the topic, questioning Attorney General Jeff Jackson and Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai.
Rep. Grant Campbell, R-Cabarrus, says his staff found several examples of suspicious billing from Medicaid providers. One appeared to be headquartered in an abandoned storefront, and another reported high travel expenses and cash withdrawals.
“Rooting out waste, fraud and abuse isn’t just a fiscal issue, it is a moral one,” Campbell said. “Every dollar misused is a dollar not spent on a child with autism, a senior needing care or a patient waiting for treatment. … We keep talking about how we have no money to look into this, and we had two staffers with Google and an Excel sheet in less than two…
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