Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Pennsylvania’s free newsletter here.
A man who was accused of orchestrating a fraudulent voter registration scheme in Pennsylvania ahead of the 2024 presidential election has pleaded guilty.
In October 2024, district attorneys in multiple counties announced they had received thousands of voter registration applications that did not appear to be legitimate. The announcements made national news, and the incidents were eventually turned over to Attorney General Dave Sunday for prosecution.
Guillermo Sainz, who was in charge of the operation, pleaded guilty Monday to three misdemeanor counts of soliciting voter registrations and will face 30 days in jail, along with a $1,000 fine and 11 months probation.
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