| 2023/06/10 |
Media Statement FREE STATE - Sabata Israel Papane (60) was found guilty by the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on charges of fraud, money laundering and contravention of the Estate Agency Affairs Act 112 of 1976 on 9 June 2023. During 2016, the accused was approached by the complainant after the latter developed interest in purchasing a house she saw advertised. She contacted the accused to make an offer to purchase and met him at the office he said belonged to him, posing as an estate agent. They both signed a contract drafted by the accused where after the complainant gave him an amount of R100 000-00. When it was time for the complainant to occupy the house, she discovered that the accused was not mandated by the lawful owner of the house to sell it. He could not refund the complainant the money paid towards purchasing the house. A case was then registered against the accused and was handed over to the Hawks' Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit based in Bloemfontein for further investigation. The accused has been appearing before the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court for the same case since 2021 until his conviction on 9 June 2023. He is due to appear in the same court for sentencing on 03 July 2023. He remains in custody. Ends
Enquiries:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SAPoliceService |