South African car import fraudster gets hefty prison sentence

A 29-year-old South African woman was on Monday, 28 October 2024, sentenced to 15 years direct imprisonment by the Brits Magistrate’s Court after she was found guilty of two counts of fraud.

She was sentenced for posing as a legitimate businesswoman who imports luxury vehicles from the United States of America (USA) and swindled numerous unsuspecting customers out of millions of rands for vehicles that were never delivered.

South Africa’s sports car swindler

As per the South African Police Service (SAPS), between 2016 and 2018, the accused defrauded unsuspecting victims by tricking them into believing that she was a legitimate businesswoman who imports luxury vehicles from the USA at a reasonable price.

One victim paid over R2.9 million to import Ford Mustang sports cars and Harley Davidson motorcycles, while another victim, who entered into a business partnership with her, paid over R800,000 to import unnamed foreign vehicles.

The fraudster created different email accounts from which she would communicate with the victims, giving them faux progress reports about the importation status of their new rides.

She inevitably failed to deliver on her promises and was confronted by the victims who demanded their money back.

She only managed to pay back a portion of the complainants who subsequently dropped their charges. However, she failed to pay back the two from whom she stole the combined R3.7 million.

The Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime conducted investigations which led to the arrest and successful prosecution of the accused.

After making a series of court appearances, she was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment on both counts which is set to run concurrently. Consequently, she will effectively serve a 15-year jail term.

North West Hawks acting Head, Brigadier Silas Munzhedzi, and the Director of Public Prosecutions in North West, Dr Rachel Makhari, have welcomed the sentencing. The two have lauded the investigation and prosecution team for securing a successful conviction.