GAUTENG – Chartered Accountant, Mark Jonathan Vorster (44), has been convicted for fraudulent Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) claims - also known as Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) by the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday, 31 August 2022.
The Hawks' Serious Corruption Investigation began in earnest after the case was reported in August of 2020. Vorster faced charges of theft, fraud and money laundering after he submitted TERS claims on behalf of five companies without their knowledge. The amount of over R800 000 was paid into Vorster's bank account from the Department of Labour.
He used just under half of it for personal benefit before an amount of just over R480 000, was frozen following a Hawks' probe. Faced with insurmountable evidence presented in court Vorster pleaded guilty to eleven counts of fraud, two counts of theft and one count of money laundering. The court found him guilty as charged.
The case was postponed to 24 October 2022 for sentencing proceedings. Meanwhile the final forfeiture order was granted that he has to pay back the stolen funds to UIF.
The Gauteng Provincial Head of the Hawks, Major General Ibrahim Kadwa has commended both the investigating and the Prosecutorial teams for a job well done. He has urged the public to report those they believe unduly benefitted from TERS scheme to authorities.
Source: South African Police Service