R4.7m ‘fake witnesses’ racket lands Gqeberha court clerk, guesthouse owner in the dock

A supervisor at the Gqeberha Magistrates’ Court came across a stack of questionable travel vouchers on a clerk’s desk in 2020, inadvertently uncovering an alleged R4.7-million fraud racket against the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJCD).

The clerk allegedly colluded with a guesthouse owner in Summerstrand, Gqeberha, to book witnesses into her establishment when they were due to appear before the court.

Sounds innocent enough. However, it appears that the witnesses never existed, and the clerk and the guesthouse owner allegedly split the proceeds of more than 100 fake bookings over 17 months.

Court clerk Ntombikayise Screech, guesthouse owner Mari du Plessis and her company, Fortywingspe, face 183 charges, including fraud, money laundering and forgery.

They first appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Gqeberha shortly after their arrests in 2022, and are due back in court later this month.

In another development two weeks ago, the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA’s) Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) was granted a provisional restraint order, freezing R8.5-million worth of assets of the two accused, believed to be the proceeds of crime, pending the finalisation of their criminal trial.

According to the charge sheet, one of Screech’s responsibilities at the Gqeberha Magistrates’ Court was making travel and accommodation bookings for witnesses due to attend court proceedings.

The alleged fraud came to light when Screech was absent from work, and her supervisor found 151 travel vouchers at her work station that appeared to contain falsified information.

The claims were dated between May 2019 and October 2020, spanning the Covid-19 lockdown period when travel restrictions were in effect.

While some of the travel vouchers later proved to be legitimate, the vast majority were flagged as irregular.

Instead of reflecting the contact details of the supposed witnesses, two phone numbers belonging to Screech appeared on the voucher forms 115 times, and 113 of the accommodation bookings were made at the 40 Winks Guesthouse in Summerstrand — the trading name of Du Plessis’ company Fortywingspe.

Further investigation also uncovered that travel agents regularly used by the DoJCD made 52 payments into 40 Winks’ bank account, after which the guesthouse allegedly made 121 payments into Screech’s personal account.

Over the 17 months in question, travel agents paid R4,788,390 to 40 Winks. The amounts ranged from R1,270 to R353,180.

In turn, Screech received R2,167,500 from the guesthouse, with payments ranging from R500 to 64,200.

The money trail

From there, the investigation found that Screech allegedly paid large sums of money to family members and other accounts in her name.

“No details whatsoever were obtained from the alleged guests at 40 Winks, nor did they sign any register (not even a mandatory Covid register), allegedly due to … [Screech’s] specific direction in this regard to … [Du Plessis],” the charge sheet states.

Documents before the court unpacked the standard procedure whereby a prosecutor would email a request for specific services, such as travel or accommodation for a witness, to the DoJCD.

A clerk tasked with bookings would then complete a VA26 travel voucher by capturing the witness’s personal details, including ID number and contact details.

From there, the form and any supporting documents go to the court manager for verification and authorisation.

The clerk then emails a travel agent to process the necessary bookings with service providers, like guesthouses or hotels, and records the bookings in the VA26 register.

“No money may be received or handled from any accommodation establishment by the booking official, nor may the employee in Accused 1’s [Screech’s] position accept or solicit money from the accommodation establishment to disburse to witnesses or to any person for whom accommodation was arranged for any reason whatsoever,” according to the charge sheet.

It is further alleged that Screech made fraudulent bookings for herself and a family member at 40 Winks and other accommodation establishments. The payments from 40 Winks into her account started shortly after her stay at the guesthouse.

Following their 2022 arrest, Screech and Du Plessis were released on R2,000 bail each and have since appeared in court several times.

In the latest development, the AFU’s provisional restraint order was granted in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca), as it is believed the assets in question were the proceeds of fraud.

NPA spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said the restraint order includes Screech’s government pension fund (R501,509), and four properties belonging to Du Plessis — three in Summerstrand and one in Oyster Bay, about 110km west of Nelson Mandela Bay.

Daily Maverick discovered that the Summerstrand property formerly known as 40 Winks had been rebranded as Villa Vintage. Two other guesthouses in the area were operating under the same name.

If the trial results in convictions, the AFU will probably confiscate the frozen assets to recover the losses suffered by the DoJCD.

“The freezing of assets sends a strong message that crime will not be rewarded and that the NPA will continue to pursue all lawful avenues to recover money and property derived from criminal activities,” said the Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo. DM