Corporate 24 Medical Centre founder and CEO, Mike Joka Tuesday appeared before a Harare magistrate accused of swindling Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS) of ZW$108,860 in 2021.
Joka is jointly charged with company representative Naison Muza.
They both briefly appeared before Harare magistrate Marewanazvo Gofa who granted them ZW$500,000 bail.
The two are being represented by Levious Mundieta.
According to court papers, sometime in 2021, PSMAS engaged the services of a Forensic RBG Auditors who carried out an audit covering a period extending from 2015 to 2022.
The auditing firm unearthed several fraud cases during the process.
On different dates, Corporate 24 Medical Centre hatched a plan to defraud PSMAS through fraudulent claims.
“The accused rendered non-emergency services to different PSMAS members, but they claimed undue fees using other codes which require medical service members not to be charged,” prosecutors said.
It is alleged that acting on the misrepresentation, PSMAS effected payments to Joka’s bank accounts, an act prosecutors say prejudiced the health insurer.
The state alleges that as a result of the suspects’ conduct, PSMI suffered an actual prejudice of ZW$108 860,91 and nothing was recovered.
While court papers did not reveal exactly how much the amount was worth in terms of US dollars back then, a quick internet research on official channels shows the US dollar traded at just above ZWL$6 during the time, meaning the quantum of the alleged fraud stood at just over US$18,000.
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