Millions allegedly siphoned by post office manager
Millions allocated for society’s most vulnerable were allegedly siphoned off by a Gauteng post office manager, reports The Citizen.
The employee appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court last week on at least 80 counts of theft and fraud.
Sepheka Masooa is accused of channelling roughly R2.2m from the Sassa payments system, through the post office and into the accounts of ghost recipients.
Based at the Stretford Post Office near Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, Masooa allegedly committed these crimes in 2020 with a case only being opened against him in 2022.
‘Fictitious accounting entries were made on the Webripost system reflecting payments to beneficiaries. The internal audit uncovered that such payments were inflated and could not be substantiated by valid documentation or supportive recipients bio-files,’ explained Hawks spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha.
A police report claims the accused allegedly conducted the fraudulent transactions either very early in the morning or in the evenings – times outside of the post office’s standard operating hours.
Masooa will appear in court again on 21 June as he waits for the appointment of a legal representative.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
