Rustenburg - Three more people have been arrested in connection with a R4 million online dating scam in the Northern Cape.
The three were arrested in Bellville, Cape Town, on Wednesday.
Hawks spokesperson for the Northern Cape, Captain Tebogo Thebe, said: "The Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team assisted by their Bellville counterparts arrested additional suspects on the ongoing case of fraud and money laundering. The operation arrests follow the arrest and charging of the main accused, Pius Emokpe, 49, in May 2022.“
Juany Michaels, 24, Lulama Dilimeni, 33, and Shafwaan Fakier, 47, appeared in the Kimberley Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Thursday
Thebe said: “The accused’s arrests come after an investigation which revealed that bank accounts registered in their names were used for money laundering whereby money from on-line dating scams was deposited in their accounts. The main accused, Pius Emokpe, worked with the trio to defraud unsuspecting victims. The victims suffered a loss of approximately R4 million.”
The hearing was postponed to February 2 for bail applications.
The State alleges, Emokpe and his co-accused defrauding a woman he met on a dating website of more than R3 million in the Northern Cape.
The Hawks arrested Emokpe on May 4 last year in Cape Town. An undisclosed amount of money was recovered following the arrest.
A woman alleged she was scammed by Emokpe after meeting him on an online dating site. He claimed to be an Italian based in Cape Town.
He allegedly borrowed money from her, claiming that his marine company was experiencing financial difficulties. The woman lost over R3m.
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