A 36 year old man has been sentenced 20 years for running an
online dating scam in which he duped vulnerable women out of thousands of rands.
The Bellville Commercial Crimes Court sentenced a fraudster for
duping vulnerable women out of thousands of rands.
In a statement Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting
Authority (NPA) Eric Ntabazalila said 36 year old Chinonso Pascal Eze was
convicted for23 counts of fraud and nine counts of money laundering.
On Thursday he entered into a plea and sentencing agreement
with the state and confessed to being part of a syndicate which operated an
online dating scam.
The court heard that Eze and members of the syndicate reached
out to victims through dating sites. He groomed women, gaining their trust, and
then requested money from them in “emergencies” while portraying the image of
wealthy man who could easily pay back the money. The syndicate created fake
dating profiles under the names Marcos Ivan, Michael Brandy Smart and Craig
Thompson.
In total, Eze swindled his victims out of R1 035 030.
By Everngelista Muza
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