Two alleged romance scammers who are said to have scammed more than R2 million from an online “lover” have eventually been caught - more than five years after a case was opened against them.
The Hawks' Serious Commercial Crime investigation has resulted in the arrest of Nomfusi Princess Fortune, 33, on October 3. She will face charges of fraud and money laundering related to the romance scam.
A case of fraud was registered at Norwood police station in June 2019 after the victim had suffered a loss of over R2-million - money which she paid systematically over to the person she believed to be her lover.
The complainant met a man, later identified as Allen Graig, on Facebook, and they began an online relationship, communicating via WhatsApp.
Once the suspect gained the complainant's trust, he started requesting money for various reasons. The complainant eventually realised that she had been scammed, according to the Hawks.
She deposited the money into different accounts, one of which was a Capitec account belonging to Nomfusi Princess Fortune, which received three transactions amounting to R70,000.00.
Fortune appeared before the Palm Ridge Court on Monday for a bail application alongside her co-accused Zizipho Mqikela, 32, who was also arrested on charges of fraud and money laundering related to the same romance scam. Mqikela's FNB account received R580,000.00 in seven transactions from the same victim.
Fortune was meanwhile granted bail of R2000, while Mqikela was granted bail of R3000. They are due to be back in court on January 24 when the matter has been set down for trial.
The Gauteng Acting Head Brigadier Phumeza Klaas has sounded a warning to the public not to fall for these scams. “This incident serves as a stark warning to all South African citizens to remain vigilant against romance scams. We urge everyone to exercise caution when engaging in online relationships and to report any suspicious activities to the authorities,” she said.
Pretoria News
zelda.venter@inl.co.za