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Prosecutors say Damian Halfkenny, 54, of Boston, submitted false payroll information to get a COVID-19-era Paycheck Protection Program loan.
A retired Massachusetts State Police sergeant has agreed to plead guilty in connection with an alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain a federal pandemic relief loan, prosecutors announced Friday.
Damian Halfkenny, 54, of Boston, was charged with one count of wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley’s office said. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Prosecutors say Halfkenny, while working full-time as a state police sergeant in 2021, applied for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for a real estate business through which he owned and rented several properties. However, the business had no employees.
According to charging documents, Halfkenny claimed his business had monthly payroll expenses of $8,488 and submitted what…
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