Insurance broker accused of R6m swindle
A Durbanville insurance and investment broker, formerly contracted to the Old Mutual, appeared in court charged with fraud involving more than R6 million.
|||Cape Town - A Durbanville insurance and investment broker, formerly contracted to the Old Mutual, appeared in court in Cape Town for the sixth time on Thursday, charged with fraud involving more than R6 million.
Hendrick Nicklaas Engelbrecht, 45, of Magnolia Crescent, Durbanville, was not asked to plead to the charge when he appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Bellville, before magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg.
She warned him to appear in court again on April 29.
According to the charge sheet, Old Mutual contracted him to advise clients about the company’s products and policies, and he was paid commissions for all policies sold and all investments successfully concluded.
One of his investment clients happened to be the company, Trans Hex Operations (Pty) Ltd.
Because of his dealings with Trans Hex, he had access to the signatures of the directors, George Zacharias, Magda Loubsher and Altie Kruger.
Prosecutor Ezmeralda Johnson alleges that Engelbrecht fraudulently applied for three Max Investment policies, on behalf of Trans Hex, without the knowledge of the directors.
It is alleged that he forged the directors’ signatures, and gave incorrect postal details for the company on the application form.
On the application form, he allegedly falsely indicated that the company’s contact person was a D Kok – a fictitious person – and he included a false email address for Kok as well.
The State alleges that he knowingly also gave a false telephone number for the company.
It is alleged that he presented the forged application to the Old Mutual, and received a commission amounting to R6, 103, 436.
African News Agency
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