Elijah Mahlangu and Jabu Mokoena, both aged 32, appeared before the Emakhazeni Magistrates’ Court on 8th October for fraud. Their appearance followed their arrest by the Hawks’ Middelburg and Secunda-based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation units.

It is alleged that in October 2021, the complainant, Mr Sizolethu Richard Sindane, a regular customer of Centex Fluid Products Africa (PTY) LTD, placed an order via email as usual. The company would typically package the goods and notify him when they were ready for delivery, after which Sindane would deposit the money into an FNB bank account before receiving the products.

The main suspect, a former SANDF employee, allegedly accessed Mr Sindane’s email account fraudulently and altered the communication. Posing as Mr Theo Phillipou from Centex Africa, the suspect informed Sindane that his order was ready for delivery and that he should deposit the payment into a new bank account, citing a change in banking details.

Trusting the email, Sindane deposited R741,000 into the new account provided by the suspects. However, the company confirmed that they never received the payment, and Sindane realised he had been defrauded.

During the investigation, evidence emerged linking five suspects from Gauteng Province, who received the stolen funds into their personal bank accounts. Two of these suspects, Mahlangu and Mokoena, were arrested and appeared in court, where they were released on R1,000 bail each.

The case has been postponed to 23rd October 2024, while investigations continue to apprehend the remaining three suspects.