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 (25) with his accomplice, Sikelela Trevor Masiso (30) sent spam messages to vulnerable community members for loan approvals from a fictitious financial service provider, Bruma.
Further investigation revealed that the suspects allegedly demanded R55 000-00 as legal and administration fees from complainants in order for the R500 000-00 loan to be processed successfully. Months later without receiving the alleged loans, the complainants reported the matter with authorities and were referred to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team in Pretoria for further investigation.
The investigation team successfully traced and apprehended Masiso in February 2019 at his home in Swaneville, Krugersdorp. He was sentenced to two years of 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.
The court granted Masimini an R2000-00 bail and the case is postponed to 09 November 2021 for legal representation.