The head of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), Andy Mothibi, says medico-legal claims in the public sector have become a scam.
On Wednesday he told the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) that the extent of loss to the state could exceed R4 billion.
Mothibi revealed the web of collusion between unscrupulous lawyers, touts and medical professionals to defraud the state and the claimants too.
He has recommended a total overhaul of the claims process.
The SIU has been investigating medico-legal claims across the provinces since the proclamation was issued in 2022.
It has revealed how lawyers are defrauding not only the state but also their own clients.
Nurses meanwhile are stealing medical records to fuel the scheme.
Mothibi said some of the children in whose names the claims are made still live in dire poverty and appalling conditions.
“This is a scam. In fact, it fits in the definition of organised crime, and we are dealing with it as such.”
Mothibi said the state attorney’s office through which these claims are processed was also not in the clear.
“There, the process really requires improvement so that it’s monitored appropriately.”
51 referrals have been made to the Legal Practice Council, and another 45 to the Legal Practice Fidelity Fund.
Mothibi said he had full confidence that these bodies were taking the appropriate action to have these lawyers struck from the roll.