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11 accused of defrauding Sassa of R260-million back in court

11 accused of defrauding Sassa of R260-million back in court

eNCA10-06-2025
JOHANNESBURG - Eleven suspects linked to the R260 million Sassa fraud case, are back in the Lenasia Magistrate's Court, for their bail application.
The group faces over a thousand charges of fraud, related to a multi-million rand card scheme.
Seven of the suspects are employed by SASSA, and are accused of creating fake profiles and committing identity fraud.
The case was postponed to allow the court to consider additional evidence.
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