Off the hook after fleecing Durban North pensioners
Call for residents to come forward who have been scammed by 'pre-paid metre' scam artist.
A DURBAN North resident is appealing to other residents who have been scammed by a conman to come forward to open a case. Jenny Bower, whose parents were robbed of R20 000 in cash and jewellery worth more than R300 000 last year by a man claiming to work for the municipality’s electricity department, said she was distraught that the case had been struck off the court’s roll due to lack of evidence.
In all, the conman, whose name is known to the Northglen News, fleeced more than R80 000 from pensioners across KZN. In North Durban alone, he was linked to six cases. However, because the suspect could not be positively identified in an ID parade, the case was struck from the roll. Now, Bower is hoping for more residents to come forward to revisit the case and link the conman to other cases.
“Sadly my mom passed away shortly after the incident. She was very shaken after the robbery and never recovered. Another pensioner also died after his ordeal. I want to stop this man from doing what he did to my family and others. In each of the cases, he brought along a portable card machine and was able to take thousands within minutes.
“The man claimed to be from the municipality. In most cases, he knew the name and the address of the people and said that pensioners were being offered a chance to have pre-paid meters installed to save them money. We are appealing to other residents who haven’t come forward to open a case with the Durban North SAPS. We cannot allow this man to get away with this,” Bower said.
