FORMER sheriff of Alberton, Ntombizodwa Seti, is now being investigated by the Hawks, after a year of being a fugitive.
RECORD reported on the alleged fraudster in November 2016 when one of her former employees came forward, stating she had not only defrauded the entire system at the sheriff’s department but also failed to pay her staff for many months.
Also Read: Fraud and Corruption rife in Sheriff’s Department
Seti used to be a High Court judge and is alleged to have set criminals free for a price and instead of facing departmental and/or criminal charges, she was moved to another position of power; where she was allowed access to a lot of money.
“They talk about R8-million Seti stole, but I’ll tell you for sure, it’s closer to R16-m,” said one of Seti’s previous employees who would like to remain anonymous.
Charmaine Mabuza, the chairperson of the board (sheriffs) said: “The Board received the first claim against the Fidelity Fund in September 2016 and Seti resigned, taking herself out of the disciplinary reach of the Board. Both trust and business accounts belonging to Seti were frozen, following an urgent application to the high court, launched by attorneys Du Toit, Sanchez and Moodley.
“Seti illegally removed critical files from her office and went into hiding, prompting the board to send Lana Nel, sheriff of Pretoria North, to investigate the extent of the allegations of misappropriation. The Board then laid a criminal complaint against Seti at the Alberton Police Station in November 2016 and the Hawks have now gotten involved,” added Mabuza
The South African Board for Sheriffs received claims to the value of R15.6-m for the 2016/2017 financial year against the Fidelity Fund for Sheriffs. These claims concern allegations of misappropriation of trust money by a few sheriffs.
“Seti has on several occasions made contact telephonically, making promises to return the money and the files that she illegally removed, but never showed up at any of the scheduled meetings. The board has taken a decision to pursue civil remedies against Seti on behalf of the Fidelity Fund. Private investigators hired by the board have managed to trace Seti and this information has been communicated to the police,” said Vincent Nel from the board.
RECORD has contacted the Alberton Police Station for comment, but we have received no feedback as of yet.
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