Frail care centre loses millions in alleged theft
More than R2m has been siphoned from the bank account over the past four years.
Serenity Haven Frail Care Centre in Honeyball Avenue finds itself in dire straits and struggling to look after the more than 10 residents in its care.
According to owner George Mouton, this situation is the direct result of theft committed by a former staff member to the tune of R2.1m over the past four years.
The alleged theft was only discovered in December last year when a local accounting and marketing firm stepped in to help Serenity Haven implement a strategy to gain more patients.
Rupert September, the CEO of business incubation hub Maestro Assist, says he first met Mouton when, as part of the ATI Foundation, he called Serenity Haven intending to donate to the facility and hold prayer services there from time to time.
“During one of our conversations, Mouton mentioned that he needs help with marketing and we agreed to see what we can do for him,” says September.
“We became a little suspicious when we requested documentation as part of our due diligence and the staff member who had been managing the centre became very argumentative and always came up with excuses for why we could not have access to the required documentation, citing privacy and the Popi Act, and a host of other reasons.”
September approached Mouton and upon further investigation, found that Serenity Haven had been deregistered with the Department of Social Development – without Mouton’s knowledge.
“We investigated even further and picked up irregularities in the bank statements,” says September. “Upon our advice, he went to the bank to get bank statements, and what we found was shocking.
“It turns out that the person, who had been employed at Serenity Haven for the past seven years, had diverted more than R2m to another account, later discovered to be that of her husband.”
The Roodepoort Record is in possession of Mouton’s bank statements and an accountant’s report that corroborates this.
The person was dismissed from her job and criminal cases were opened at the Roodepoort Police Station.
“Shortly after she was fired, and even before we could let the families of patients know, the person sent letters to the families informing them of a new bank account number into which they should pay the monthly rentals,” adds September.
“This resulted in many of the rentals not getting to Serenity Haven, severely hampering their ability to meet their financial responsibilities in December and January.”
Mouton says he is heartbroken by the whole ordeal.
“I loved and trusted this person like a daughter,” he says. “She drew up statements for me every month, showing me the income and expenses, only for me to find out it was all bogus. It turns out that, instead of paying our creditors, she diverted the payments into another account.”
The Record contacted the Roodepoort police, who confirmed criminal cases have been opened and are being investigated.
Watch this space for more as this story develops.
