Home Affairs official convicted for funeral fraud

An employee from the Department of Home Affairs in Calvinia has been found guilty of fraud after nominating herself as the beneficiary of funeral covers that were opened in the name of fictitious death victims. 

Hawks Northern Cape spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Tebogo Thebe said the Calvinia magistrates' court found the accused Dawn Celeste Pieterson, 45, guilty on nine counts of fraud and two counts of contravening the Birth and Death Registration  Act 51 of 1992 on October 1.

"Pieterson’s misdeeds took place between February 2019 and September 2022 when she was employed at the Department of Home Affairs offices based in Calvinia. As part of her duties, she had access to the national population register. Pieterson took funeral covers from reputable insurance companies and nominated herself as a beneficiary. To benefit, she manipulated the national population register by falsely issuing BI-1663 forms (notice of death form) to reflect the fictitious death of the victims. The system registered the affected persons as deceased, resulting in a plethora of problems in the victims’ day-to-day lives."

Thebe said the matter was postponed to January 26 2026, for sentencing.

The acting provincial Head of the Hawks, Brigadier Prince Mashimbye, commended the efforts of the investigation and prosecution team.