By Doreen Mokgolo
- Three people accused of stealing millions through romance scams were denied bail due to passport fraud and pending cases.
- The scammers used dating apps and fake healing ceremonies to convince victims to hand over money.
The law has finally caught up with two Ugandan nationals and their South African accomplice.
The trio pretended to be healers and businesspeople, tricking their victims out of millions of rands.
They are accused of running romance scams that stole millions of rands from their victims. They will spend Christmas behind bars after losing their bail application on Tuesday.
The Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Katlehong denied bail to Ugandans Derrick Nsubuga, 34, and Nassazi Joan, 31, along with South African Mmakgomo Doris Ngcobo, from Botlokwa in Limpopo.
The court found that Nsubuga had two passports and had lied on his student visa application. Police were unable to verify Joan’s home address, despite her claims of being a businesswoman and traditional healer.
Ngcobo, who runs beauty salons in Limpopo and Gauteng, has two other fraud cases pending against her.
The Hawks arrested Ngcobo two weeks ago for allegedly helping to steal up to R2 million in romance scams.
In one case, a victim met a man on a dating app and later met him in Sandton with his “aunt,” Joan, who claimed to be a healer.
Joan told the victim she had a dark cloud blocking her success and offered to help. She convinced the victim that her luck lay in business and encouraged her to take out a loan.
To “bless” the business, the victim withdrew R20,000 and transferred R233,000 to an account Joan provided. The Hawks say the victim was then pushed to take out another loan but was robbed by armed men on her way to hand over the money.
The Hawks state that the gang used the same trick in all three cases they investigated.
The case will return to court on 11 February.
Pictured above: Accused Derrick Nsubuga, Nassazi Joan from Uganda and Mmakgomo Doris Ngcobo.
Source: Doreen Mokgolo
