Man up for medical aid fraud

2003-10-21 18:19

Untata - Witnesses in the trial of a Lady Frere man accused of committing R700 000 medical aid fraud, told the Umtata High Court that signatures appearing on the medical aid claim forms were not theirs.

They also said they never received the medication tabulated on the claim forms.

Appearing before Judge Lusindiso Pakade was Aggrey Malinge Sihlobo of Lady Frere who had pleaded not guilty to 1 745 counts of fraud.

Sihlobo is also facing charges of uttering, selling or dispensing scheduled drugs, submitting false claims to medical aid schemes and presenting a false homeopath diploma purporting to be from the Hahnemann Institute.

State advocate Jeanette Nevelling told the court that Sihlobo submitted claims totalling R910 443 between May 1999 and June 2000 to medical aid schemes companies, and was subsequently paid a total of R759 000.

A Department of Education subject advisor, Lungile Mcizana, told the court he did not know Sihlobo and that no member of his family ever went to Sihlobo's "surgery".

Mcizana, however, admitted that he gave a distant relative his Phila Medical Aid Scheme card to go to a doctor.

He said the relative was given medication with the label of "Herbalife" showing outside the bottle. Mcizana denied that the signature appearing on the medical aid claim form was his.

Albertina Nomsa Silinga, attached to the department of agriculture in Queenstown, told the court that Sihlobo came to her office with a catalogue for Herbalife products.

"I was suffering from a skin problem at the time. I placed an order with Sihlobo for a related medication. He subsequently delivered some medication to me."

Silinga said she never paid cash upfront, instead Sihlobo took down her particulars from her medical aid card.

She told the court she never visited Sihlobo's surgery, did not sign any claim form and that the signature appearing on the medical aid scheme form was not hers.

Silinga also told the court that none of the medication listed on a medical aid scheme statement of hers was ever delivered to her.

Eighty state witnesses are reflected on the indictment. Included on the list are London Metropolitan Police officers, officials from the department of education in Swaziland and representatives of the University of Swaziland.

Advocate Sindile Majokweni is representing Sihlobo.

The trial continues.

- SAPA