It’s hard for a mother to bury her, son whose provident fund was allegedly fraudulently given to his ex-girlfriend, from whom she had been separated for more than a decade.

In 2012 after her son’s death, Ellen turned to NBC Holdings, a financial services provider, and was advised by a former NBC employee on the type of documentation needed for her to access her late son’s estate. The former employee then advised Ellen to leave half of the money intended for her two grandchildren with different mothers with NBC. Ellen agreed, and an affidavit was filed stating that the money would be given to Ellen’s deceased grandchildren when they turned 18. In 2014, Ellen checked the status of the account with her financial services provider and discovered that the second child’s mother had allegedly received both children’s money. In 2022, Ellen asked Guardian Report for assistance.

We (Guardian Report) spoke to NBC employees who told us that they know about Ellen’s case, and are willing to assist her. All these calls we had with NBC employees were recorded. We conducted NBC’s legal department and asked for right of reply.

NBC Holding’s legal department stated, The allegation of fraudulent activity is denied. This is a false allegation as it’s not supported by any evidence and our records show no such activity.

It was clear that NBC legal department are not aware of the fraud that happens within the organization.

On August 22, 2022, NBC notified us that the matter was under investigation. We then inquired with NBC about the status of the investigation, but they didn’t respond to us. We continued to put pressure on NBC employees for an entire year. An employee at NBC Holdings contacted Ellen on January 18, 2023, and asked her to open a bank account and bring the account statement to their offices.

On February 10, 2023, Ellen was at NBC Holdings; offices in Braamfontien, where she met an NBC employee who agreed to deposit R18 000, but NBC deposited R12 000.

Ellen is disappointed with the lack of services provided by NBC Holding, which led to mental health problems, and she cites that didn’t get the full amount which was promised to her.