PRETORIA - Former Nelson Mandela Bay spokesman Roland Williams is set to spend four years in prison after his suspended sentence was activated by the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) said on Saturday.
Williams, who defrauded Santam Insurance by submitting a false claim stating that his car was involved in a road accident in Port Elizabeth on August 19, 2014, has had his initial suspended sentence of four years converted to direct imprisonment, Eastern Cape Hawks spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha said in a statement.
"At the time of the offence, the now convicted fraudster Roland Williams aged 50, was reportedly going through financial woes. His black BMW had broken down owing to mechanical issues.
"He then reportedly intentionally damaged the vehicle and submitted a claim to his insurance, purporting to have been involved in an MVA [motor vehicle accident] along the Addo Road in Motherwell [in Port Elizabeth]. The insurance consequently suffered a loss to the tune of R96,000 as a result of Williams’ criminal ways," Ramovha said.
About two years after the incident an informant approached the insurance company and alerted them of the swindle. Subsequently, the Hawks’ serious commercial crime investigation unit’s probe resulted in the arrest of Williams on July 6, 2017. He was consequently convicted on March 9, 2018.
In January 2020, the court sentenced Williams to 36 months correctional supervision, a fine or 24 months imprisonment, and a further four years imprisonment suspended for five years. He was further ordered to reimburse Santam R96,000 before May 21, 2020, which he failed to do.
"The Hawks’ rearrested him on 16 October 2020 for failure to comply with a court order. This has effectively put paid to his freedom. The court has, on Friday, 22 January 2021, activated his suspended sentence of four years jail term to start with immediate effect," Ramovha said.
African News Agency