A Glenwood couple who were conned by an international wanted criminal are hoping police find the man before he gets his clutches into more victims.
According to Richard Simpson, he met “Brandon Hinchcliffe” in March 2013, at a local sports club. “We were both soccer enthusiasts, I am a Liverpool fan and he was Manchester so we chatted and watched matches together.
“He was a computer nut, googled everything and was so well read and up-to-date with current affairs, an excellent conversationalist and highly intelligent. He came across as a very reputable and a savvy businessman,” Simpson said.
After a few months they became firm friends and Simpson, a chemist with his PHD, shared an idea he'd had for many years for a firelighter business with Hinchcliffe. “He seemed very interested and we decided to go into business together with him marketing the product. I was working, so trusted him, but later realised he was crooking the books and pocketing half the money.”
“My wife Sally always had a funny feeling about him and a few things didn't add up,” he said. Brandon was always at the heart of conversations and jokes, yet he never wanted to be in any pictures, even at Christmas which Simpson found strange. He always shaved his head and wore a cap so they very rarely saw his ginger hair.
The only time Richard became suspicious was when Brandon called him to ask for a lift to the hospital when he mysteriously fell and broke his arm.
“I noticed that he had admitted himself under a different name. when I asked him about it, he made a joke of it. Later my wife started following up on information. She felt he may have the gift of the gab but something was wrong. We found out his mother's property he was trying to sell on the South Coast was registered under the surname Pyatt. And after research on the internet we discovered he was a wanted by South Yorkshire Police and on the UK Crime Stoppers website on a variety of charges from theft, deception and fraud. He was also arrested for a drug bust on the South Coast and uses several aliases including Robert Kershaw, Branden William Pyatt, Gary George Pyatt, Gary Pyatt and Brian Moriarty.”
Simpson got in touch with various police members and attended a meeting with a Hawks member who knew about Brandon. “He told me he would take it from here and I should keep a poker face and act normal while they sorted out the case against him and liaised with the British authorities.” Months went by and Simpson allowed Brandon to use his vehicle, but he left Durban and moved to Lions Park. “We continued to work but he stopped responding to calls and when I tried to make contact with him and retrieve my vehicle he went completely under the radar. I reported the Jeep stolen and there was a warrant for his arrest but unfortunately each time he gets caught out, he seems to slip out of the authorities hands,” he said.
The Simpsons have been investigating and trying to determine his whereabouts for more than a year after discovering he was a wanted criminal, spending their own money trying to get private investigators help when authorities fell short. “He's even sold the concept for our business but I feel the what's more worrying is that he is able to continue and con others. He's been on the run for about 20 years and is an international career con man who can do it again and again. We found that he's latest scam is targeting students and job seekers to study in the UK. We really don't want more innocent people to get scammed out of their money,” he added.
Brandon was last seen in Camperdown area but isnow believed to be in the Port Elizabeth area.
Lieutenant Phumzile Makaula, communications officer at Umbilo police confirmed that a warrant of arrest was out for Brandon William Pyatt for theft of a motor vehicle and had been circulated on the SAPS criminal system.
