Multi-million MedBond fraud case reaches KwaDukuza court
In the state's bail opposition statement, the court heard that Pierre Scheepers' money had not been invested, but was transferred to multiple different accounts upon receipt.
Ballito’s Jaco van Heerden (41) was granted R75 000 bail on Tuesday in the lead up to his R2.36-million fraud trial in the Umhlali Court.
Van Heerden was arrested and charged on October 16 in connection with an allegation of fraud made by his friend Pierre Scheepers, and has since appeared four times in court.
He had been held at Westville Prison since his arrest and applied for bail before the trial, which the state opposed.
Van Heerden, by way of his bail application affidavit, has strenuously denied all allegations of fraud and indicated his intent to plead not guilty to the charges.
The case revolves around an investment made by Scheepers in May this year after an opportunity was discussed with Van Heerden, who is a director of MedBond Insurance Administrators.
The investment was made with an associated company, MedBond FX.
“Jaco and I were friends and we have many mutual friends in the area. He said he had a good deal on the table to buy dollars, which would give me a good return in 30 international banking days,” said Scheepers.
Scheepers transferred R2.364-million but has yet to receive his initial money back, nor any of the promised profit.
He later put in a withdrawal order, but was told to wait 30 more days, after which he opened a case of fraud at Umhlali Saps on August 18.
In the state’s bail opposition statement, the court heard that Scheepers’ money had not been invested, but was transferred to multiple different accounts upon receipt.
Within 24 hours, the account balance was just R28 659.
The state argued that Van Heerden was a flight risk and that bail should be denied, while also referencing seven other matters currently under investigation around the country that include MedBond.
Via his affidavit, Van Heerden said he would be willing to hand in his passport to prevent travel and that he was not a risk to the public and had no previous convictions.
He also said that his ongoing detention prevented him from being able to look after his family as the sole breadwinner.
The bail application saw some delays before judgment was handed down on Tuesday.
He will need to report to a police station three times weekly and must surrender his passport. He is scheduled to return to court on February 29, 2024.
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