‘Pest’ said to prey on pensioners
THE alleged “scam pest” targeting elderly shoppers with cash at Durban North malls may soon be brought to book again at the Durban Magistrate’s Court.
Renaldo Chetty, 28, was earlier convicted in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court for fraud, and sentenced to three years in prison suspended for three years.
But when he appeared at the Durban Magistrate’s Court this month for a separate scamming matter at the Musgrave mall, he was re-arrested for a previous scamming incident at Gateway mall in March.
According to Phoenix resident Marlon Govender, Chetty duped Govender’s 69-year-old mother into handing over R1000.
Chetty’s method, according to Govender, was to watch elderly shoppers and approach them when they were alone. He would then introduce himself as a long-time friend of the person’s child, and request money.
Govender said: “He pretended to talk with me over the phone, which made my mother believe him and hand over her pension money. He told her I owed him money.”
The method was confirmed with another 78-year-old pensioner from Sydenham also allegedly scammed by Chetty in February.
Chetty now faces a slew of criminal charges, and his court appearance has been postponed to allow prosecutors to combine all matters against Chetty, including Govender’s case, according to a source close to the investigation.
SAPS spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala confirmed that Chetty was also being investigated for a case of theft opened this month at Durban North police station.
Govender called for a harsh penalty. “We must get to the root of this behaviour by reporting all incidents to authorities,” he said.