Cape Town, South Africa – November 15, 2024
Wanda and Sindiswa Mbele, siblings at the center of a major insurance fraud investigation, are due to appear at the Athlone Magistrate's Court on November 21, 2024. The siblings are accused of falsely claiming to be cousins of the late David Manuel, a well-known actor, in order to secure funeral insurance policies and maximize payouts following his tragic death. The alleged scheme involved altering policies shortly before Manuel's death to qualify for enhanced accidental death benefits and subsequently attempting to claim R110,000 from both Capitec Bank and Old Mutual.
According to court documents, Wanda and Sindiswa allegedly embezzled R50,000 each and used a portion of the fraudulent funds to purchase furniture valued at R15,000. They are now facing multiple charges, including fraud and money laundering.
The duo’s alleged fraudulent activities first came to light after Wanda Mbele publicly voiced frustration over delayed payout claims on the consumer complaint platform, Hello Peter, and tagged Capitec Bank in a post on social media. The post, made on October 22, 2024, criticized Capitec's handling of the payout, claiming that the bank had “frozen funds” and could not provide a reason for withholding the money. Wanda further claimed that a Capitec employee, identified as Lillian Boshoff, had the authority to unlock the account but was unreachable.
In a tweet on October 21, Wanda expressed her frustration:
How long dies it take for @CapitecBankSA to pay out a funeral claim? It has been two weeks waiting on a claim payout. When you get to the bank they say a Lillian Bushoff has the rights to unlock the account and release the funds! She is unreachable...
— SekoM (@SekoM20) October 21, 2024
"How long does it take for @CapitecBankSA to pay out a funeral claim? It has been two weeks waiting on a claim payout. When you get to the bank, they say a Lillian Bushoff has the rights to unlock the account and release the funds! She is unreachable..."
The complaint on Hello Peter further detailed the siblings' financial struggle, claiming that they had to resort to loan sharks to cover funeral costs due to the delay in payment. However, investigations revealed inconsistencies in their claims, leading authorities to discover the alleged fraud.
The accused submitted a grievance to Hello Peter, citing @CapitecBankSA's failure to pay out on a funeral policy claim: pic.twitter.com/YmqGc9BoMd
— South African Criminal Justice System (@RSA_CJS) November 14, 2024
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