A warrant of arrest has been issued for an alleged fraudster and motor vehicle thief after he failed to appear in court in November 2022.
Sello “Papa” Khumalo is charged with theft of motor vehicles and fraud. The crimes were committed in Winburg, Welkom and Thabong in the Free State.
Captain Stephen Thakeng said: “Unsuspecting victims who are selling vehicles on Facebook Marketplace are being targeted by this alleged motor vehicle thief and a fraudster.
“He would contact the seller and pretend to show interest in buying the vehicle for his girlfriend or wife as a birthday present.
“This suspect will then request a bank account of the seller so that he can transfer the cash price of the vehicle been sold. Then he will send a notification to inform the victim that the money will reflect in the bank account after some few days.”
Thakeng added that the the seller will hand over the vehicle keys and papers of the vehicle before Khumalo drives away with the car.
“The seller will realise [later that] he has been scammed, and that it was a fake notification that he received on his cellphone. Then the alleged fraudster will sell the same vehicle to the third party, usually a licensed vehicle dealership.”
Thakeng said Khumalo was later caught in the act.
“He was caught red-handed by the Welkom K9 unit members on October 28 2021 while trying to scam another seller.
“The suspect was positively identified by the victims and he appeared at the Welkom magistrate’s court where he was granted bail of R5 000,” said Thakeng.
Thakeng also warned people who sell vehicles or any item on Facebook Marketplace to always be vigilant of fraudsters posing as buyers.
The Welkom vehicle crime investigation unit has since made a plea for the public to help trace Khumalo.
In a separate incident, a self-proclaimed millionaire and foreign exchange trader Sandile Shezi’s wife is topping trends after she was informed that her husband is on the run.
Shezi, who has left the wife behind with children, is believed to be somewhere in the Middle East.
This after a warrant for his arrest was issued after he was found to have scammed dozens of people.
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