Cape Town - Alleged fraudster and fugitive, Riccardo “FluffyPony” Spagni, is expected back in court on Thursday after his court matter was rolled over from Tuesday.
Spagni has been in custody since he was extradited back to South Africa last week after surrendering to US Marshals on July 5.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said: “(The matter) was rolled over to today at 11am as the Cape Town Regional Court F was busy with partly heard matters that were scheduled and where the accused has been in custody for lengthy periods of time. The fugitive from justice was extradited from the US after leaving the country while his fraud case was partly heard in the Cape Town Regional Court.”
Spagni, a crypto-developer who holds dual citizenship in the US and South Africa, is accused of having defrauded his former place of employment, Cape Cookies, as their IT manager between October, 2009 and June, 2011.
He had allegedly intercepted invoices from another company relating to information technology goods and services it had supplied to Cape Cookies.
Investigation evidence indicates that Spagni received R1 453 561.47 as a result of his efforts to “defraud Cape Cookies” – he potentially faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment.
Spagni had pleaded not guilty to the more than 400 fraud-related charges.
Last year, the SAPS issued a J50 warrant of arrest for Spagni, after he failed to appear twice in the Cape Town Regional Court. He was arrested in the US on July 21, 2021 on a private charter jet in Tennessee, bound for Mexico.
Cape Times