A 40-year-old Mpumalanga man was fined R10,000 for vehicle finance fraud worth over R570,000.
The sentence was imposed after Frans Nkadimeng appeared in the Middleburg Magistrate Court on Wednesday.
Provincial Hawks spokesperson, Warrant Officer Thandi Tshabalala, said on May 5, 2022, Nkadimeng applied for vehicle finance at Bidvest McCarthy VW in Middelburg using fraudulent documents, payslip and bank statement.
“He said that he was employed by Ikageng Ma-Africa Burial Society in Soshanguve. His finance application was approved by Wesbank, based on the fraudulent documents presented,” said Tshabalala.
After he was approved, Nkadimeng collected the vehicle, a 2017 VW T6 2.0 TDI Kombi valued at R570, 885.84.
“He failed to pay monthly instalments, the bank tried to locate him but he was not found. The matter was reported to the Hawks Middelburg-based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation for investigation.
“The Hawks investigated the matter and Nkadimeng was arrested and the vehicle was recovered,” added Tshabalala.
In court, Nkadimeng was found guilty fined R10,000 and handed a five-year suspended sentence, on condition that the accused is not convicted for similar offence during the period of suspension.
In a similar matter, in September, a Free State man was sentenced to five years imprisonment in the Bethlehem Magistrate’s Court for vehicle fraud.
Mlodi Van Rooi Mpofane, 32, was convicted on charges of fraud and theft.
The provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Christopher Singo, said the arrest stems from an incident that took place in June 2021.
“It was reported that Mpofane approached a car dealership in Harrismith and applied for financing of five vehicles to the value of R3,241,862.
“He then submitted all the required documents to the sales department at the dealership. The sales department forwarded these documents to the bank so that the bank could finance the vehicles.
“Mpofane collected all the vehicles after submitting all the required documents. During the verification of Mpofane's documents by the finance department, it was discovered that the bank statements and proof of income were fraudulent,” Singo said.
He was subsequently arrested and all five vehicles were repossession and recovered by the bank.
IOL News