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MPUMALANGA - A 63-year-old,  African male is expected to appear before the Middelburg Magistrates' Court on Monday, 20 May 2024 for fraud. The arrest followed after a warrant of arrest was authorised and executed by the Hawks Middelburg and Secunda based Serious Commercial Crimes Investigation assisted by Metro tracing unit (Gauteng) on 18 May 2024. [...]

FREE STATE - On 17 May 2024, the Bethlehem Commercial Crimes Court sentenced Jeanette Nhlapo (38) after pleading guilty for committing fraud against the South African Revenue Service (SARS). The charges against Nhlapo originate from when the company she is co-directing, Castle Hill Trading, submitted fraudulent tax claims to the amount of R1.5 million for the [...]

EASTERN CAPE - The Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crime Court convicted Lindeka Patricia Ntlokwinendaba (41) on 15 May 2024 for charges of fraud. This is subsequent to a joint venture by Mthatha Serious Commercial Crime Investigation (SCCI) of the Hawks, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and Old Mutual insurance company. Ntlokwinendaba insured the deceased, Mfunxuse Golden Mvinqi with [...]

MPUMALANGA - Miss Ntombelanga Pretty Labane (40) appeared before the Amersfoort Magistrate Court on Thursday, 16 May 2024, after she was arrested by the Hawks Secunda based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit for fraud. It is alleged that on 1 September 2016, Labane applied for a business and accounting educator’s post at Hlelimfundo Secondary School [...]

FREE STATE - Mathoto Cynthia Letseng (34) and Morena Solomon Mokete (26) appeared before the Bloemfontein Magistrates’ Court on 15 May 2024 after they were arrested for separate cases of fraud and money laundering. It is alleged that during 2020, Morena Solomon Mokete lodged an application for the Covid-19 Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) with [...]

EASTERN CAPE -  The swift arrest of a former police reservist on charges of fraud was welcomed by the community in Middleburg. It is alleged that the 50-year-old suspect defrauded the community earlier in 2024, posing as a SAPS detective, thereafter he requested money to assist suspects in obtaining successful bail applications. On separate incidents, [...]

ST.GEORGE, Utah – Bradford, Leland Fishback, 40, of St. George was sentenced today to over two years’ imprisonment, three years’ supervised release and ordered by the court to pay $685,845.05 in restitution. The sentence, imposed by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Robert J. Shelby, comes after Fishback admitted to fraudulently obtaining government funds from programs [...]

The FBI’s 2023 IC3 Elder Fraud Annual Report Highlights a Growing Crime Trend MIAMI—According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), 2023 total losses reported by those over the age of 60 topped $3.4 billion, an almost 11% increase in reported losses from 2022. Tech support fraud was the number one crime type reported [...]

HOUSTON – Five individuals are now in custody following allegations they tricked an elderly man in his 90s out of over $300,000 in retirement funds, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Authorities arrested Lenel Hopkins, 52, Antoinette Monique Hopkins, 42, Alichia Webster, 60, Neil John Halvorson, 65, and Victor Evans Jr., 70. The arrests occurred in [...]

WESTERN CAPE - The Bellville based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team of Hawks have on 14 May 2024 arrested an additional suspect aged 54 years on charges of fraud. He is expected to appear at the Goodwood Magistrates' Court on 16 May 2024. His arrest emanates from an incident in February 2024 when Dylan Conroy [...]

The South African fraud landscape has steadily increased over the past five years, making this one of the top risks South Africans face daily. Evidence of this risk is clear for all to see with the recent hack of the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) and the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), which are [...]

EASTERN CAPE – Thozama Sauli (40) who was the bookkeeper of Zone 607 CC company appeared before East London Magistrates’ court on 14 May 2024 for allegations of Value Added Tax fraud. Sauli was ultimately arrested by East London based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation of the Hawks on the same day of his court appearance. [...]

Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Hui Qin, also known as “Qin Hui,” “Hui Quin,” “Muk Lam Li” and “Karl,” a citizen of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”), who was listed on Forbes Magazine’s List of Billionaires and who operated SMI Culture, a Hong Kong-based entertainment entity, was sentenced by United States [...]

Annual IC3 Elder Fraud report released to inform the public of scams and prevent further victimization The FBI has released the annual Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) Elder Fraud report. This annual publication provides insights and statistics into incidents of elder fraud reported to the IC3. Across the nation, tech support fraud was the most [...]

FREE STATE – The accused Lelokonyana Isak Letseng (44) appeared before the Bloemfontein Magistrates’ Court on 10 May 2024 where he faced a charge of fraud. A preliminary investigation conducted by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) at the Department of Employment and Labour discovered alleged fraudulent activities. It is alleged that a company known as [...]

The FBI Washington Field Office is warning the public about a scam  targeting Chinese communities in the U.S. and students attending U.S. universities. In this scheme, criminals pose as law enforcement officials from China to defraud victims, threatening the victims to build plausibility. They tell victims that they are the subjects of criminal investigations in [...]

POLOKWANE - A 44-year-old suspect, Joseph Hassan Yaye, originally from Congo, appeared before Makhado Magistrate's Court, on Thursday, 09 May 2024 facing charges of fraud and theft. He was remanded in custody until 15 May 2024 for interpreter and legal representative. It is alleged that, the suspect and his accomplice defrauded a 54-year-old woman of [...]

GAUTENG – Themba Ndaba (51), appeared in the Germiston Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, 08 May 2024, for theft of funds after he duped the victim into believing that the funds were an investment into a film production Shaka Zulu. Ndaba claimed to run a film production company named Teddy Bear Pictures when he met the [...]