A CON WOMAN has been found guilty of two counts of fraud and sentenced to 15 months in prison following her sentencing on 9 January.
Local businessman Janus Horn, along with Nicky Burke from Berea CPF and Det ML Dorasamy from Berea SAPS, worked together to arrest the woman, Athiliah Rangasami, last June after she left Horn’s guest house after a month’s stay without paying her bill.
At the time, Horn did a background check into the woman who went by the name Athiliah Williamson, and uncovered a sordid tale of fraud.
She was accused of five cases of fraud, amounting to more than R500 000, arising out of incidents from Cape Town to Durban.
She was wanted for bilking in the Durbanville and Brackenfell areas, had appeared on a local radio station in Durban where she spoke about her son, whom she claimed suffered from leukaemia and was undergoing chemotherapy, and in response from listeners received a free pamper session.
She also started a funding page on social media to raise money for her son’s treatment, and received hundreds of thousands of Rands, despite the fact that her child was healthy.
Horn also discovered there had been two cases of fraud against her, one of which was withdrawn, and she had spent a year in Pollsmoor prison for the other case.
With the help of the CPF and Det Dorasamy, the woman was tracked down and arrested on 28 June last year. Her son was reunited with his father who lives in Cape Town.
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Commenting on the conviction, Det Dorasamy said Rangasami still needed to appear in court for the other cases.
“Unfortunately I was unable to head all the investigations because of different jurisdictions, and I was only tasked to investigate this case for Janus Horn. Taking into cognisance that fraud convictions are rare due to many legal technicalities, I am pleased with this conviction and hope to see many more in the future. I urge the community to assist and work together with SAPS to curb fraudulent crimes by providing positive leads. An integrated approach is essential in combating commercial crime. Victims suffer huge financial losses every year that in many cases cannot be recovered, and the public is urged to be alert and be cautious of scams and fraudsters,” he said.
Horn thanked Det Dorasamy for his hard work on the case.
“We were hoping to combine all the cases but it did not happen, so each will be trialed individually. I think the sentence is lenient and she is lucky for such a light sentence. I am sure the other cases have greater value and will hopefully see harsher sentences. Many people have not proceeded with charges because they are embarrassed, but I urge them to open a case and charge Athiliah as she is a fraudster,” he said.
Horn said he had stayed in contact with Rangasami’s son’s father, and that the boy had settled in extremely well with his family in the Cape.
“He seems so happy. He is now in a stable, loving place and hopefully this will continue for many years to come. He loves being reunited with his sister,” said Horn.
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