Mohamed Hanief Aboo, 55, appeared before the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court recently, following his arrest for fraud and money laundering.
Aboo handed himself over to authorities, becoming the fifth suspect apprehended in connection with a case registered at Hillbrow police station in June 2023.
According to Gauteng spokesperson for the Hawks, Warrant Officer Thatohatsi Mavimbela, Aboo appeared with Marwan Aly Mohamed, Mohamed Ahmed Zakaria Badr Mohamed, Percival Clement Wekeyo, and Busisiwe Norah Gumbi.
Fraudulent death benefit claim
The group allegedly operated as a syndicate to defraud Liberty Life Insurance of R4.4-million. This they did by submitting a fraudulent death benefit claim.
The scam was uncovered by the South African Insurance Crime Bureau (IBC). It was discovered after Hollard Insurance requested verification of a suspicious claim. The company suffered an actual loss of R4.4-million and faced a potential loss of R15-million.
“The fraudulent claim, submitted on 18 June 2021, was for the alleged death of Mr. Wagdi Youseff Zaki on 9 April 2021. Investigations revealed that Liberty Life had processed a R4.4 million death benefit pay-out. The pay-out was subsequently distributed across various bank accounts.
“The IBC’s probe, initiated by Hollard on January 16 2023, exposed the syndicate’s activities,” said Mavimbela.
Four of the suspects were arrested in April 2025 and granted bail of R15,000 each.
All out on R15k bail
During his first court appearance on May 28, Aboo was also granted R15,000 bail. The case has been postponed to June 26 2025, when all five suspects are scheduled to appear.
In 2021 former policewoman and convicted serial killer Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu was found guilty of murdering six people for insurance pay-outs.
Ndlovu killed her live-in partner, Maurice Mabasa, and five relatives (her sister Audrey Somisa Ndlovu, cousin Witness Madala Homu, niece Zanele Motha, and nephews Mayeni Mashaba and Brilliant Mashego) between 2012 and 2018. Her motive was to collect approximately R1.4-million.
Nomia Ndlovu
Ndlovu, who worked at the Tembisa police station, was arrested in March 2018. She was nabbed after a sting operation. During the sting operation, she was caught hiring hitmen to kill her sister Joyce and her five children.
The hitmen informed the police, leading to her capture. She was sentenced to six concurrent life terms for the murders. She also got 30 years for fraud, incitement to commit murder, and attempted murder of her mother, Maria Mushwana.
