Scott Hospital loses M350k

…as accounts employee resigns after probe into theft begins

Moorosi Tsiane

A former Scott Hospital accounts employee is under police investigation for allegedly siphoning more than M350,000 from the institution over a three-year period through a scheme involving cash deposits and falsified banking records.

The suspect, who has since resigned from the hospital, allegedly stole the money in small amounts between 2023 and 2026 while working in the accounts department, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

The alleged fraud only came to light this year after auditors detected irregularities in the hospital’s banking records, prompting an internal investigation that was subsequently referred to the police.

Sources said the former employee was responsible for depositing money collected from patients into the hospital’s bank account each week.

Instead of depositing the full amount, the suspect allegedly pocketed part of the cash before using self-service bank deposit machines to deposit the remaining balance into the hospital’s account.

“This person worked in the hospital’s accounts office and was entrusted with making weekly bank deposits after collections from patients. What he allegedly did was to keep a portion of the cash and only deposit the balance using the bank’s outside deposit machines,” a source said.

“The scheme is believed to have started in 2023 and continued until this year, when auditors noticed irregularities in the bank records and raised the alarm.”

The alleged theft is believed to have accumulated to more than M350,000 over the three-year period.

Sources further alleged that the suspect may not have acted alone.

To allegedly conceal the missing funds, another individual is said to have forged bank deposit slips to create the impression that the full amounts had been deposited into the hospital’s account.

The investigation intensified last week after the discrepancies were brought to the attention of hospital management.

According to sources, the suspect was summoned to a meeting with management on 1 July to explain the missing funds.

However, just two days later, he reportedly submitted his resignation with immediate effect.

“He was called by management after auditors flagged that there was a shortage of money amounting to M350,000, but two days later he resigned with immediate effect,” the source said.

The source added that investigators believe the money was allegedly taken gradually to avoid raising suspicion.

“He allegedly took the money in portions over a long period. There are suspicions that some of the money may have been used to build a new house here in Morija because the construction happened very quickly. However, that remains only a suspicion at this stage and forms part of the ongoing investigations,” the source said.

Scott Hospital Administrator, Matšepo Molibeli, declined to comment in detail, citing the ongoing police investigation.

“This issue is between the police and our lawyers. I am in no position to comment on it for now until the investigations have been concluded,” Ms Molibeli said.

Police spokesperson, Senior Superintendent Thabo Mohai, confirmed that a theft case had been opened at Morija Police Station.

“The matter has been reported to Morija Police and a case of theft has been opened while investigations are ongoing,” SSP Mohai said.

“The provisional investigations show that one of the employees at the hospital stole money from the hospital from 2023 until this year. No arrests have been made so far.”

He said investigations were continuing and that any further action would depend on the evidence gathered.

The post Scott Hospital loses M350k appeared first on Lesotho Times.