GAUTENG – The Hawks’ Vaal Rand Specialised Commercial Crime Investigation (SCCI) has successfully served a J175 summons on a company and it’s director for massive fraud relating to the Covid-19 Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme (TERS) on Monday, 14 September 2026.
The company and its director, face 56 counts of fraud following a meticulous investigation stemming from a November 2024 case registered at the Katlehong Police Station.
It is alleged that during the height of the pandemic, between 06 January 2021 and 01 March 2021, the director applied for Covid-19 TERS benefits from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) on behalf of individuals she claimed were employees of the company.
Relying on these misrepresentations, the UIF approved the applications and paid out a total of R327,769.00 into the company’s account and to the purported employees.
The fraudulent scheme came to light during a whistleblowing investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). When SIU investigators interviewed one of the individuals listed as a beneficiary in the company’s application, the individual flatly denied ever working for the company or receiving a single cent of TERS funding from the company.
Both accused entities are scheduled to make their first appearance in the Palmridge Specialized Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday, 08 October 2026.