Accident fund official fined heavily for duping amputee over his claim

An employee of the Road Accident Fund (RAF) who duped a man who had recently undergone a leg amputation due to a horror car crash was sentenced to a hefty fine of R100 000 (or three years in prison) yesterday.

Julia Mfundisi was appointed coordinator of Project Siyenza in East London to help direct claimants institute claims, fill in forms, see doctors and obtain accident reports.

Her job was ultimately to ensure that claims against the RAF ran efficiently and smoothly.

Mfundisi met victim Mncedi Dyosi, of Bedford, at an RAF roadshow in Zwelitsha in July 2014.

Dyosi’s right leg was amputated following a car accident in September 2009.

At the time, he appointed a firm of attorneys in Queenstown to lodge a third party claim against the RAF on his behalf.

After he learnt that attorneys charged contingency fees of up to 25% he decided to end their mandate and go it alone.

The purpose of Project Siyenza was to finalise old direct claims and to reduce backlog claims, legal costs and claim processing costs.

It effectively cut out the middleman – the attorneys.

Fittingly, direct claims resulted in legal costs being avoided, assisting both the claimants and the RAF in saving money.

The Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court – sitting in Motherwell yesterday – heard how Mfundisi visited Dyosi at his home in Bedford in August 2014.

She misled him by falsely informing him that the RAF would only help him with compensation for damages in relation to his injuries, but offered to help him to institute a claim for loss of future income.

“She convinced him to sign a bunch of documents which he did not read,” state advocate Lise Keech told the court.

Dyosi realised later that he had unwittingly appointed another legal firm to represent him and had again signed a contingency fee agreement in their favour.

Mfundisi’s fraudulent actions caused severe financial implications for both the victim and the RAF.

Magistrate Louis Claassen found that as a result of her misrepresentation, Dyosi had to pay 25% of his total payout from the RAF for general damages and future loss of income.

The RAF also had to pay costs which could have been avoided.

Because of Mfundisi’s position of trust, Claassen found the only appropriate sentence to be a hefty fine.