Convicted murderer, Sandile Kagiso Mantsoe. Picture credit: www.saps.gov.za
Convicted murderer, Sandile Kagiso Mantsoe has been slapped with an additional 15 years behind bars for fraud.
In 2016, Mantsoe operated a fake investment scheme through his company, Trillion Dollar Legacy, swindling more than 100 people of at least R1 million.
According to the Hawks in Mpumalanga, Mantsoe first appeared in the Evander Magistrate’s Court for fraud in August 2022.
A court summons was issued after the accused was linked to fraudulent activities committed between April and August 2016.
The 34-year-old and Trillion Dollar Legacy faced a total of 120 charges.
The matter was referred to the Hawks Middelburg-based Serious Organised Crime Investigation for exploration.
During the investigation, it was established that Mantsoe tricked the victims into investing money by providing fake information on investments.
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“One hundred nineteen (119) victims invested money at Trillion Dollar Legacy. The investigation was finalised and J175 (summons) was executed on the accused while in prison,” Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Lucy Sekgotodi in said a statement on Wednesday.
Sekgotodi confirmed that the Evander regional court found Mantsoe and his company guilty of fraud on Tuesday, 16 July.
While Trillion Dollar Legacy was fined about R1.6 million, which was suspended for five years on each charge, Mantsoe received 15 years of direct imprisonment.
His sentence will run concurrently with his 36-year sentence.
The Citizen previously reported that Mantsoe was reported to the police in December 2016 after he failed to fulfil his promise to repay the investors he had defrauded.
In 2018, Mantsoe was convicted for the murder of his girlfriend, Karabo Mokoena.
Mokoena’s burned body was discovered in an open field in Lyndhurst, Johannesburg in April 2017, a few kilometers from Mantsoe’s home.
Initially denying involvement and offering to aid in the search for Mokoena after her disappearance, Mantsoe was arrested the following month when police uncovered crucial evidence.
Subsequently, Mantsoe faced charges including murder, defeating the ends of justice, and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, stemming from an incident Mokoena had reported in March 2017.
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