South African Woman Dupes Employer with Fake Cancer Story

A South African woman of Indian origin duped many and defrauded her employers of millions with her fake cancer story .

Vindra Jaickaran Chhoteylal Moodley, of Hilton near Pietermaritzburg, recently pleaded guilty to 74 counts of fraud worth Rand 2.1million in the Durban Commercial Crime Court. Moodley, who worked as an IT teacher at Cowan House Preparatory school, is set to be sentenced in May.

The former teacher, 49, issued fraudulent invoices, often overstating them to cheat the school, the court heard, IOL reported. She shaved off her eyebrows and hair, and plucked her eyelashes to gain sympathy for her fake cancer story, and claimed that she had only four months left to live.

Several people, including students, parents, staff members of the school, a photography studio and many others, fell for her story and offered help through fundraising.

Moodley in her plea statement said that in August 2016 she made a negotiation with Big Beat Productions while hosting a conference for the school and overstated the invoice. When the school asked her about it, she let her son take a hit for what she had done. “I caused my son to take responsibility for my actions,” she said, according to IOL.

Follow-up internal investigations revealed that Moodley used fraudulent accounts and company names to deposit an amount of R2 099 290 from the school into her account. She issued 73 fake invoices, overstating amounts in excess of R23000. She used four different bank accounts in her name to perpetuate fraud on Cowan House and one account in the name of her son.

According to her plea, the “actual loss suffered” by the school was R1765290, since Cowan House had received R334000 back from some financial dealings Moodley was associated with.

She admitted to faking cancer in April 2014. “After convincing Cowan House that the cancer had spread and that I did not have long to live, I was allowed to take sick leave. I was paid my full salary. Subsequent investigations revealed I did not have cancer and was not a known patient at Grey’s Hospital Oncology Department and that the medical reports supplied to Cowan House were forgeries,” Moodley was quoted as saying in the report.

The pre-sentencing procedures of Moodley’s case are scheduled to take place in April. Durban fundraising leaders are demanding a strict sentence for the former teacher.

The Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA), one of the main bodies raising cancer awareness in the country, criticized Moodley’s actions. “It’s very sad and completely unacceptable for someone to take advantage and pretend to have a cancer diagnosis and use it for their own personal benefit,” CANSA CEO Elize Joubert said, according to IOL.