Following a serious commercial crime investigation, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) arrested two suspects in connection with online dating fraud in Gauteng.
Nomfusi Princess Fortune (33) and Zizipho Mqikela (32) were arrested on Thursday, October 3, 2024, on fraud and money laundering charges related to a romance scam.
The arrests come five years after a fraud case was filed at Norwood police station in 2019, when the victim realised she had been scammed by her “online boyfriend.” According to Hawks spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha, the victim had lost more than R2 million by that time.
“The complainant met a man, later identified as Allen Graig, on Facebook, and they began an online relationship, communicating via WhatsApp. Once the suspect gained the complainant’s trust, he started requesting money for various reasons. The complainant eventually realised that she had been scammed,” Ramovha said.
“She deposited the money into different accounts, one of which was a Capitec account belonging to Nomfusi Princess Fortune which received three transactions amounting to R70,000.00.”
The second suspect, Zizipho Mqikela, was taken into custody after the criminal investigation discovered that her FNB account received R580,000.00 in seven transactions from the same victim.
Both suspects appeared in Palm Ridge Court on Monday, October 7, 2024, for bail applications and were granted R2000 for Nomfusi Fortune and R3000 for her co-accused, Zizipho Mqikela. Their case was postponed to 24 January 2025 for trial.
The Gauteng Acting Head, Brigadier Phumeza Klaas, issued a caution to all South African citizens, saying they should “remain vigilant against romance scams.”
“We urge everyone to exercise caution when engaging in online relationships and to report any suspicious activities to the authorities,” She said.
