Daniel Smit (49), started to serve his ten years imprisonment last Friday after failing to pay back more than R6 million that he defrauded from different farmers around North West.
According to Capt. Tlangelani Rikhotso, the NW Hawks spokesperson, Smit was arrested by the Hawks’ serious commercial crime unit on 26 June 2015, for defrauding farmers over R6 Million in Coligny, Sannieshof and Lichtenburg by paying for cattle with false cheques that later bounced.
‘On 13 December 2017 he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years on condition that he pays back all the money defrauded from the farmers by January 2018, failing which the full sentence will come into effect,’ said Rikhotso.
She added that Smit appeared at the Mmabatho High Court on 29 January 2018 where the matter was postponed until Friday.
The Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Maj-Genl Linda Mbana lauded the investigation team for their job well done.