ON September 3, a case of fraud was reported at Berea SAPS and allocated to Detective Constable Marcel Lyle Dorasamy for investigation. The fraud case was originally a minor case of fraud, to the value of R4 000, but it led Dorasamy to unravel a darker and deeper organised crime involving a syndicate operation valued at half a million rand.
“The complainant initially only reported that he’d advertised his BMW tyres for sale on a website to the value of R4 000. He was then contacted by a buyer who told him he would pay him the R4 000 for the tyres and would pick it up at the complainant’s address. The suspect arrived at the complainant’s residence, picked up the tyres and paid the complainant R4 000 with a bank voucher, which the complainant received via SMS. He then told the complainant that he could redeem the voucher, and he left ‘to attend an urgent business meeting’. However, when the complainant went to retrieve the money, the bank manager advised him to open a case of fraud as the voucher was not valid,” said Captain Carmen Rhynes, SAPS eThekwini District spokesperson.
Also read: Fraudster sentenced to 15 years in prison
Rhynes added that upon investigation, Dorasamy discovered that the accused entered the complainant’s premises with a white Hyundai Cretan 2023 model, valued at half a million rand. “Upon profiling the vehicle, Dorasamy established that the vehicle actually belonged to Nischal Shadeo who resided in Savannah Park, Chatsworth.
“Dorasamy proceeded to Shadeo’s address to seize the vehicle as it had been used in the commission of a crime. Constable Dorasamy and his team eventually met Shadeo. Dorasamy began investigating and questioning Shadeo’s ownership of and the whereabouts of the vehicle. He stated that he was indeed the owner of the vehicle, but [the alleged suspect] was using the vehicle for his e-hailing business as they agreed that the suspect would give him a cashback every month. However, Shadeo stated that the suspect was not paying him and was avoiding him,” she said.
Dorasamy immediately became suspicious as to how Shadeo could lend his half-a-million-rand car to the suspect for such a small cashback of only R3 000. It didn’t make any sense to him. He then began to dig deeper and unravelled actions of fraud. He arrested Shadeo for another count of fraud concerning vehicle-finance fraud. A charge of motor-vehicle theft was added.
“Further evidence gathered included statements from a car dealership, CCTV footage and statements from the bank fraud division and the bank concerning the fraudulent voucher. Also added were the bank records and forensic evidence collected during the investigation process. The Senior Public Prosecutor tasked a specialist prosecutor to prosecute on the matter which hadn’t been heard of by Durban magistrates, where both the accused appeared facing charges of fraud, theft of motor vehicle and being in the possession of stolen property.”
Also read: SAPS cracks vehicle finance fraud syndicate
Captain Rhynes concluded that the accused number one, Nishal Shadeo, was convicted and sentenced to eight years imprisonment, suspended for three years, and the accused number two had the charges withdrawn against him.
Detective Dorasamy specialises in fraud and corruption cases at Berea Detectives Unit. He has 12 years of service in SAPS, underwent a fraud course within SAPS and also holds a BA Degree in Criminology. He also continues to educate himself as he is a fourth-year LLB Student. Dorasamy committed himself to unravel a deeper and more serious crime. Due to his tenacious commitment to ensuring that justice is done, he managed to get to the bottom of a more serious crime.
Dorasamy said, “I would like to thank all the role-players who assisted in this case, and the support from my Station Commander, Colonel Gcabashe, who encouraged me to continue to give my best. Sometimes, there is a thin line between what constitutes a fraud case and a civil matter, and the fraudster will hide behind the civil line to commit fraud.”
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