What can I do if someone fraudulently applied for a disability grant on behalf of someone else, and is collecting the money, without their knowledge?

The long answer

So, there are two problems here:

1. Your late aunt applied for a disability grant for your father, without his knowledge or consent, which was granted. For the past three years, this grant money had been used by your late aunt for her own benefit. This practice has now been continued by the surviving sister.

2. Your father owns an RDP house that has tenants whose rent was collected by the late aunt and is now collected by the surviving aunt. This rent has been used for their own benefit.  

 To deal with 1 first:

The documents that a person needs to give SASSA when they apply for a disability grant include their ID and a medical certificate not older than three months from a doctor confirming the disability and stating how long it is expected to continue. 

Legal Aid says there are three stages in applying for a grant:

1. Applying: filling in the application forms in the presence of the SASSA officer, having fingerprints taken and an interview with the SASSA officer where you have to present information about your income and assets (like a bank account statement for the last three months if you have a bank account) to see if you qualify under the means test. 

2. Notifying: a letter of approval or rejection, which takes less than 3 months.

3. Appeals: you can appeal a rejection within 90 days of receiving the rejection letter.

Legal Fundi wrote an article on whether another person can fetch an applicant’s grant, which explains as follows:

If an applicant is unable to collect their grant money themselves (for example, if they are disabled, or too old or sick) they can appoint someone else to collect on their behalf, called a procurator. The applicant and procurator would have to sign and thumbprint a Power of Attorney document, provided by SASSA, in front of a Commissioner of Oaths. The procurator would have to take this document (and their own identity document) with them whenever they collect the applicant’s grant.  

If the applicant is similarly unable to go to a Commissioner of Oaths, they can ask two trusted people to make an affidavit stating the applicant is alive but unable to collect their own grant because of age, sickness or disability. They may be required to take a doctor’s note saying something to the same effect. Alternatively, they can request a SASSA official to do a home visit. 

But Burger Huyser Attorneys points out that family members who try to override or act under “an invalid power of attorney” are acting unlawfully. 

So, if your father didn’t know or agree to your late aunt applying for the disability grant for him, how did she manage to do this without his signature or thumbprint? Is it possible she forged his signature on the power of attorney form? Did she take his ID without him knowing? How did she get the doctor’s certificate for him?

From your account, it seems that your late aunt may have been acting under an invalid power of attorney in applying for the disability grant, and the surviving aunt may be continuing to act under an illegal power of attorney.

Let’s look at question 2 now, and then see what may be the best way forward:

On rent collection from an RDP house: firstly, no one is legally allowed to rent out an RDP house, although an RDP house can be sold after 8 years. Although many people rent out their RDP houses, you should know that it has always been illegal to rent out an RDP house, and the law has not changed. The problem is that the authorities don’t seem to be able to enforce their own rules, and often turn a blind eye to illegal renting out of RDP houses. There are also many allegations of municipal officials themselves benefiting from illegal rentals of RDP houses. 

Presumably your father must have agreed to the renting out of the RDP house. But how is it that the aunt collected rent from the tenants? How could she collect rents without his agreement? Did your father agree to that originally, not suspecting that she used the rentals to benefit herself?    

So, what can your father do about it all?

Perhaps the first thing is to revoke the power of attorney. Your father, if he is mentally competent, i.e. if he is still in his right mind and is able to take decisions, has the power to revoke (officially cancel) the power of attorney document he is supposed to have signed, that allowed his sister to apply for, collect and manage his disability grant. He should give this written cancellation (which should be witnessed and signed by a Commissioner of Oaths) to your aunt. He should also send it to SASSA as they have been dealing with your aunt under the power of attorney, so they know they should no longer be dealing with her. And he should tell SASSA how he would like to collect his grant in future. 

To do all the above successfully, I would recommend that you and your father ask the Black Sash to help you with it. They are an organisation that gives free paralegal advice and they have a lot of experience with SASSA.

These are their contact details: 

• Email: [email protected]

• Helpline: 072 66 33 73, 072 633 3739 or 063 610 1865.

Wishing you the best,
Athalie