DURBAN - Fraud accused Patrick Stapleton and his son Michael have been released on bail after spending a month behind bars.
The father and son pair from Hillcrest were granted a bail reduction by the Durban Commercial Crimes Court from the initial R60 000 each that had been set, reduced to R20 000 Stapleton Sr and R10 000 his son Michael. Their lawyer Daryl Francois said the men were not able to raise required funds for the initial bail amount.
However, their co-accused Shannon Dicks, who is married to Patrick, was able to pay bail when it was granted in October.
The trio allegedly robbed of investors a total of R11.5 million, which was meant to go towards research and development for an off-road mining vehicle and a and a painting business.
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The trio are accused of allegedly “promising investors large monthly returns over various periods whilst not being able to sustain any of these claims.”
They have pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
“I was not involved in the business in which the arrests were made. I’m out on bail and I am defending the matter,” said Dicks.
The family are allegedly only paying for the electricity and it is alleged by the pensioner that they have never paid rent. Dicks claimed Stapleton had a lease agreement with Nel, however.
“The Stapletons live off me and now I’ve found out that they are running their fraudulent business from my house and languish like kings in a beautiful, secure, upmarket estate on the lake free of charge,” said Nel in an interview with the Sunday Tribune in October.