Pretoria -- MACBETH Nqobo (47) has appeared before the Ottosdal Magistrate’s Court after he handed himself over to the Hawks for alleged theft of pension money, amounting to approximately R2.3m.
Hawks’ spokesperson in North West, Capt. Tlangelani Rikhotso said it is alleged that a pensioner was approached by her female friend, who convinced her to invest in “push-push marketing”.
“The friend allegedly took her to a house in Mahikeng where they met several men who introduced themselves as traditional healers. The alleged traditional healers reportedly prayed for the pensioner and called upon her ancestors to bless her. Subsequently, she was allegedly informed that she would double her money within four days if she invests,” said Rikhotso.
“The pensioner subsequently transferred R2.3m into the account provided and waited four days for her money to double. After four days, she tried to get in touch with her female friend to no avail.”
Thereafter, the matter was reported to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation [Hawks]. The Mahikeng-based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit probed the matter.
“On April 11, 2022, the pensioner's friend -- Irene Godfred (40) and Hakim Mphoza (35), both from Uganda, were arrested in Mahikeng for theft and each released on R10 000 bail,” said Rikhotso.
“The three accused will appear before the Ottosdal Magistrate’s court on July 12, for further investigation. Meanwhile, more arrests cannot be ruled out.”
In March, the man dubbed “South Africa’s Tinder Swindler”, Amon Namara, accused of scamming Sandton-based women he met on dating app Tinder, was released on R500 000 bail by the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court.
The woman who led to the charging and arrest of the Ugandan national reported that she lost R3m to him.
Magistrate Nishani Beharie granted Namara bail, and set it at a staggering R500 000.
Bail conditions that she set for Namara included that he should report to a police station near him daily, he should not leave Gauteng or South Africa, and he should not make contact with witnesses.
The State had opposed Namara’s bail. Its grounds included that it had a strong prima facie case against him as he could interfere with witnesses and that he was in the country illegally.
IOL