Two women granted bail in R2 million romance scam case

A Johannesburg woman and her co-accused were granted bail after the duo was arrested for their involvement in a romance scam where the victim lost over R2 million.

33-year-old Nomfusi Princess Fortune and 32-year-old Zizipho Mqikela appeared at the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court on Monday, where they were granted R2 000 and R3 000 bail, respectively.

The two women were arrested on Thursday, 3 October, on charges of fraud and money laundering related to the same romance scam. 

Romance scam victim lost R2m

According to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime investigation, the arrest was a result of their investigation after a case was registered at Norwood Police Station in June 2019.

Fortune’s romantic manipulation resulted in a staggering R 2 million loss for the victim.

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The Hawks Gauteng spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha said the victim met a man, later identified as Allen Graig, on Facebook, and they began an online relationship, communicating via WhatsApp.

“Once the suspect gained the complainant’s trust, he started requesting money for various reasons. The complainant eventually realised that she had been scammed,” Ramovha said.

The victim deposited the money into different accounts, one of which was a Capitec account belonging to Fortune, which received three transactions amounting to R70 000.

Money deposited into different accounts

Mqikela was also arrested because her FNB account received R580 000 in seven transactions also from the same victim.

The Hawks Gauteng acting Head Brigadier Phumeza Klaas sounded a warning to the public.

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“This incident serves as a stark warning to all South African citizens to remain vigilant against romance scams. We urge everyone to exercise caution when engaging in online relationships and to report any suspicious activities to the authorities,” she said.

The case was postponed to 24 January 2025 for trial.

The Hawks have been sounding the alarm on romantic scams for numerous months.

Tips to identity possible romance scammers

In March, Hawks Western Cape spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi advised women in particular to remain vigilant and not to fall prey to scammers who enter their lives with the promise of love to defraud them out of their money.

The following tips could help women identify possible dating scammers:

• They look and sound very caring and responsible
• They always come up with business proposals
• They do not want their pictures to be taken
• They do not want to meet with you in a public place
• They always hide their identification documents
• They do not introduce you to their families
• They want to own everything in a relationship
• They do not take you to their real house
• They always come up with contradictory stories

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