Fraud accused is apprehended for new case

THREE individuals accused of defrauding and misrepresenting the Makasa Community Trust by pretending to be representatives of Ingonyama Trust, made their second court appearance in Richards Bay on Wednesday.

Rhana Naicker, Adriel ‘Joey’ Vadiveloo and Ravi Naidoo will reappear at Richards Bay Regional Court on 12 October for the court to set pre-trial dates.

It is alleged that Naicker teamed up with her co-accused in 2016 and invited potential investors to buy into a fictitious business opportunity to erect a shopping centre development, and fled with the funds.

The scam involved making investors believe they would benefit from the proposed land development scheme, however, the lease agreement was fictitious and there was no intention to facilitate the development.

The accused allegedly defrauded the complainant, Simivert (Pty) Ltd, who believed they had entered into an agreement as developers with the Makasa Community Trust, on four occasions, to the tune of R650 000.

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In a new matter, Naicker was again arrested on Wednesday morning.

The charge sheet listed a number of counts, including fraud or alternatively theft (count 1), proceeds of unlawful activities (count 2), forgery (count 3), and uttering (count 4).

The charges relate to Naicker allegedly illegally acting as a broker for the sale of shares in the Caltex Alton garage franchise for which the plaintiff paid a deposit of R500 000.

Naicker appeared in Richards Bay Magistrate’s Court the same day and was released on R5 000 bail.

Her bail conditions stipulate that she report to Richards Bay police station every Sunday.

The case was remanded to 12 October at the Regional Court.