The CEO of the Road Accident Fund (RAF), Collins Letsoalo, has publicly named a law firm, Gert Nel Inc., alleging that it has benefited irregularly from medico-legal claims.
Letsoalo claims that the firm has received over R2.2 billion from the RAF over the past five years, suggesting that Gert Nel has amassed a significant personal fortune through these alleged irregularities.
“Over the past period of five years, Gert Nel Attorneys has been paid over R2.2 billion from the RAF. You can therefore do your calculation of how much that is as part of the 25%. For R2 billion, we know that is close to R500 million that he has made. You are not shocked why this man fights so much. He wants to continue,” Letsoalo stated.
In a recent report by IOL, it was revealed that the RAF has blocked the disbursement of R65 million worth of claims over the last three financial years as part of a crackdown on fraudulent and corrupt activities.
A total of 2,031 fraudulent claims were rejected, with 870 in 2023/2024, 713 in 2022/23, and 448 in 2021/22. These claims were not processed or finalised due to their fraudulent nature.
Letsoalo emphasised that the RAF is committed to combating illegal practices employed by law firms when claiming on behalf of clients.
“Before then, the lawyers were making much more. This is a man who has made R2.2 billion and at least R500 million has gone into his pockets. He is a master of contingency fee agreements. He even prides himself on winning an award for understanding the contingency fee agreement.
“There are other indiscretions, which include charging us attorney party costs that should be party-party costs, which is something we are fighting. What I am saying is that once you see Gert Nel, think about the R500 million he has made,” he added.
IOL also reported that the RAF has identified over R1 billion in fraudulent claims for rejection over the past three years to protect its financial resources and ensure that funds are directed to genuine road crash survivors.
The RAF’s fraud detection strategy aims to enhance its operational plan, ensuring that legitimate claims are paid promptly to those genuinely affected by road accidents.
In response to Letsoalo’s accusations, Gert Nel dismissed the claims as unfounded, asserting that every transaction his firm has conducted with the RAF has been legitimate.
“It was disingenuous of Mr Letsoalo to have gone on a public platform, as everything has happened over 23 years, having acted on behalf of thousands of victims.
“The fact that we are still in practice without any complaints and findings of undue processes on our side should tell you that what we are doing is above board and that we are administering the contingency fees act to the letter of the law. It was really overzealous on the part of the CEO to suggest that,” Nel stated.
Nel has called for Letsoalo to apologise for his remarks, claiming they are damaging to the reputation of his practice.
“It is not right for the CEO to infer that we have drawn that amount of fees as one basket. To say that we have a campaign against us is also not true. What we have done in the last three weeks was to call him factually on reforms that need to happen. We want him to apologise for the public remarks that he has made,” Nel added.
The Star