Fake metro worker bust in payroll fraud arrest
This comes as police arrested the suspect impersonating a metro employee at the Rietvlei Water Treatment Plant with fake documents.
The suspect was confirmed to be using a fake identity document and will appear in the Pretoria Magistrates' Court on August 18.
Bokaba said the discovery followed a request from the Office of the Chief Operations Officer for the Forensic Services Division to probe suspicions of identity fraud.
'What investigators found was a man employed under the stolen identity of a person who, as confirmed by Home Affairs, received the genuine ID in 2013.'
He said the ID number had been blocked after the suspect attempted to apply for a smart ID, and fingerprint analysis revealed no match in the Home Affairs database, which raised the possibility of him being a foreign national.
In the early hours of August 15, Forensic Services, together with the TMPD, confronted the suspect at the treatment plant.
Lacking any credible answers regarding the ID mismatch or personal background, the suspect confessed he was not the valid holder of the stolen ID.
'He further admitted that the fraudulent identity document was given to him years ago by someone in Polokwane.'
Bokaba added that investigators also uncovered that the suspect lacked a permanent address and had been living on municipal property since gaining employment.
He said that as they had strong evidence of identity theft, Immigration Act violations, and fraud, the TMPD arrested him and handed him over to SAPS in Lyttelton.
City manager Johann Mettler said the case was meant to serve as a warning to fraudsters.
'This arrest sends a strong message that the city of Tshwane will not tolerate fraud or misrepresentation in its ranks.'
He said the metro is tightening its systems to ensure that every person on its payroll is a legitimate employee and has been properly vetted.
Mettler added that the security and integrity of the metro's critical facilities, such as water treatment plants, cannot be allowed to become compromised.
'Our priority is to safeguard public resources and protect service delivery by removing individuals who infiltrate the system through fraudulent means,' Mettler added.
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