Man accused of R1m con arrested

A Port Elizabeth man who allegedly conned several people in the Eastern and Western Cape out of more than R1m has been arrested.

Peter Steyn, 37, was nabbed along with a 52-year-old man in Port Elizabeth on Friday.

Steyn appeared in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Monday, while the state released the older man without formally charging him.

The arrest came after the older man was traced to a house in Cotton Road, Kensington, on Friday morning.

Steyn was tracked down later the same day at a house on a smallholding in Draaifontein Road, Greenbushes.

The 52-year-old man is allegedly implicated in a rental scam, after he signed the lease for a fully furnished house in Parklands North, Cape Town, which Steyn is then believed to have looted wholesale.

Police have since discovered that Steyn is also believed to be linked to a series of other scams in the Eastern and Western Cape.

Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said most of the stolen items from the Cape Town house were located during raids on the homes of the two men.

“The owner is from East London and identified the items as his,” Naidu said.

“Both men were arrested at their homes for being in possession of stolen items.”

Naidu said Steyn had contacted the home owner in November, indicating he wanted to buy the furnished house.

“An agreement was reached and an offer to purchase was signed,” she said.

“In March, the home owner was informed by Steyn that he was going on holiday to America and would be returning in April 2019 and that any contact between them should be done via e-mail.

“He also informed the owner that advance payments for the rentals had been made.

“The owner checked and no payments had been made.

“Any form of contact with Steyn proved futile.

“The owner then went to Cape Town and found that his house had been emptied of its entire contents.”

Steyn was remanded in custody pending a formal bail application on Tuesday.

In the interim, detectives are working to consolidate investigations into other scams Steyn is believed to be implicated in.

Naidu said more than 14 cases of theft had already been identified in the Port Elizabeth area alone.

The cases stem from a building supplies scam in which more than R1m was allegedly stolen from Port Elizabeth businesses and residents.

While the probe is still under way, Naidu confirmed that Steyn had allegedly used his business – Algoa Building Supplies – to carry out the con.

“There are more than 14 criminal cases, all opened in February and March 2017 in Walmer,” she said.

“The company was run from a Walmer shopping centre, which is why most of the Port Elizabeth cases are [registered] at the Walmer police station.

“The amounts [allegedly] stolen range from R30,000 to R350,000.”

Naidu said the decision not to charge the 52-year-old had been taken by the senior state prosecutor.

“If the investigation reveals that he is implicated, the charges can be reinstated,” she said.

Steyn appeared in court for theft and possession of stolen property related to the Cape Town incident.