A 25-year-old man appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court yesterday charged with fraud and money laundering.
It is alleged that in August 2015, the accused, Athule Masimini with his accomplice, Sikelela Trevor Masiso sent spam messages to vulnerable community members for loan approvals from a fictitious financial service provider, Bruma.
Principal Communication Officer at Hawks, CaptainNdivhuwo Mulamu said that further investigation revealed that the suspects allegedly demanded R55 000 as legal and administration fee from complainants in order for the R500 000 loan to be processed successfully.
Mulamu revealed that months later, the complainants reported the matter with authorities and they were referred to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team in Pretoria for further investigation, before they can even receive the alleged loans.
“The investigation team successfully traced and apprehended Masiso in February 2019 at his home in Swaneville, Krugersdorp.
“He was sentenced to two years direct imprisonment on two counts of money laundering in February 2020.
“Masimini was arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering on Friday, 29 October in Lady Frere, Gqeberha, and the court granted Masimini a R2000 bail and the case is postponed to 09 November for legal representation,” Mulamu added. Thanks
