Dating scam accused to be extradited from Dubai to city

PLANS to extradite a man from Dubai to South Africa for alleged links to an online dating scam have been set in motion.

This emerged in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court yesterday where three of eight people charged in connection with the scam appeared in the dock.

The charge sheet states that Oluwaseun Olumuyuwa, 36, Oluwasey Ogbechi, 39, Lucky Prempeh, 28, Pius Okunbor, 37, Ruth Mrewa, Sandiswa Okunbor, and Abigail Petersen, 28, were arrested in 2013 while Buhle Geva, 23, was arrested last year.

Yesterday, Pius Okunbor, Petersen and Geva, stood in the dock while warrants of arrest were out for those who failed to appear in court previously.

Prosecutor Juan Agulhas told the court that Ogbechi had been traced to Dubai and that the State had filed the necessary documents to have him extradited.

Lawyers for the three accused brought an application to have the charges provisionally withdrawn against them until their coaccused had been traced, but magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg denied the request.

The group face 77 counts including fraud, theft and one count in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act. Petersen remains in custody, not having yet paid the R20 000 bail for her release. At a previous appearance her attempt to have the bail amount reduced, failed.

It is the State’s case that the group created false online dating profiles, and targeted vulnerable victims “by grooming them” and building up trust before asking for money, “ostensibly for emergencies”.

“The accused created fake personalities… deliberately creating a false sense of security in that the personas were portrayed as being wealthy and in a position to repay the monies advanced,” says the charge sheet.

The State says their personas claimed to be from exotic foreign countries, and asked customers to send money for various expenses.

In an incident which the alleged scammers operated from a Milnerton hotel room, an Australian woman was targeted by Donald Caine, a fictitious character who said he was a semi-retired petroleum engineering consultant based in Fiji.

He had an expensive painting, inherited from his late father, to be auctioned against his will. Later, aperson claiming to be a Cape Town customs official said the painting had not been properly declared and Caine needed to pay customs duty. Caine said he would repay the money, but failed to do so.

According to the State, the group acted in common purpose, had mostly targeted overseas victims, and generally used the story of a valuable painting “that could not be realised in money terms due to certain restrictions”. They are due back in court on September 23.