The second suspect who was apprehended by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, after an unsuspecting woman lost R3 million to an online lover has appeared in court.
The scammed woman, whose identity is withheld to protect her from further victimisation, believed she was involved with a white man named “Mark Hermanus”.
Last week, IOL reported that a second suspect had been nabbed by the Hawks in Gauteng, after the woman made different payments of money exceeding R3 million, believing she was lending the money to “Mark Hermanus” - before she realised she had been scammed.
In an update, Gauteng spokesperson for the Hawks, Warrant Officer Thatohatsi Mavimbela said Justice Motsamai Khanyapa, 38, appeared before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court where he was remanded behind bars.
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“The matter was postponed to Thursday, March 13 for formal bail application,” Mavimbela responded to a query by IOL.
Khanyapa was arrested by members of the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit on Wednesday last week, as the second suspect, on charges of theft and fraud.
Last month, IOL reported that the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court has extended bail to the first accused person in the case, Nigerian national Gabriel Okori.
Okori was released on bail in November last year, and he has been appearing before the Pretoria court on charges of fraud and theft.
“The complainant in the matter alleges that she met what she thought was a white male on Facebook, by the name of Mark Hermanus. The two exchanged cellphone numbers and began chatting on instant messaging (Whatsapp),” said Mavimbela.
“While the pair were getting to know each other, ‘Mark Hermanus’ informed the complainant that his son was sick and asked the complainant to lend him money for his son’s medical bills, which escalated to over R3 million. The suspect promised to pay back once he had paid all his son's medical bills and never did.”
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The woman who is the complainant in the matter was given several bank accounts to deposit money into, one of which was an African Bank account which belongs to Khanyapa.
“An amount of R15,000 was transferred by the complainant into the said bank account,” said Mavimbela.
The case was subsequently reported to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit, leading to the arrest of the first suspect, Okori.
“The Nigerian national was traced and identified as Gabriel Okori, a Nigerian national in Cape Town on October 3 2024. In October 2024, Okori was granted bail of R5,000,” said Mavimbela.
Khanyapa was arrested last week in Orange Farm, Johannesburg South, before he made his first court appearance.
Since last year, IOL has been running the scammed series where several women and men have lost their hard-earned money including pensions and bank loans through romance scams. The victims have regrouped and are knocking on different doors, demanding answers.
In February, IOL published the story of Keneilwe who alleges she does not know how her R2 million pension was transferred from her FNB account. She insisted that she was not present when her hard-earned money was transferred, and said she never gave anyone her banking app passwords.
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