Police have arrested 80 people for Road Accident Fund (RAF) fraud involving R3,7-million.
Director Phuti Setati said they were accused of colluding with touts to fabricate information about vehicle accidents in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in May.
”False claims were allegedly submitted to the RAF for payment of fictitious injuries sustained in accidents that never occurred,” he said.
The arrests were made by an RAF task team consisting of the South African Police Service commercial branch, the National Prosecuting Authority and RAF forensic investigators.
All 80 had appeared in the Johannesburg and Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Courts.
More arrests were expected, said Setati. Investigators were targeting syndicates consisting of touts, taxi drivers, medical doctors and claimants.
He said another 15 people from Gauteng and 13 from KwaZulu-Natal had already been convicted of fraud and sentenced to lengthy jail terms over similar incidents. — Sapa