Man used fake documents to buy R500,000 Toyota Fortuner and vanished for five years
Image: Hawks/IOL
A 29-year-old man, Mthobisi Shezi, appeared before the Delmas District Court in Mpumalanga on Monday after allegedly purchasing a Toyota Fortuner sport utility vehicle (SUV) using fraudulent documents.
On Saturday, the Hawks' Secunda-based serious corruption investigation team and the serious commercial crime investigation unit arrested Shezi in Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal.
'The suspect allegedly purchased a Toyota Fortuner on credit by submitting fraudulent bank statements and fraudulent payslips to the finance institution in Delmas,' said Mpumalanga provincial Hawks spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Magonseni Nkosi.
Shezi allegedly received the popular SUV, worth R455,900, in October 2020.
'Ever since the vehicle was driven out of the dealership, not a single installment has been paid in the past five years,' said Nkosi.
The financial institution turned to the Hawks for investigation, and a thorough investigation led the team to Greytown in KwaZulu-Natal, where Shezi was arrested on Saturday.
The Hawks tracked Mthobisi Shezi and arrested him in Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal, on Saturday, after he allegedly defrauded a financial institution in 2020
Image: Hawks
Meanwhile, provincial head of the Hawks in Mpumalanga, Major General Nico Gerber has welcomed Shezi's arrest, and commended the investigating teams for their thorough efforts in tracking down the wanted man.
Last year, IOL reported that the Middleburg Magistrate's Court convicted and sentenced Jacob Aphane for vehicle fraud after he used fake documents to purchase a Suzuki Ertiga, and did not pay the monthly instalments.
The conviction and sentence came after Aphane was charged with vehicle finance fraud to the value of R496,211.
'It was reported that on October 7, 2022, the accused applied for vehicle finance at Yagos 4 Wheel Cars in Middelburg, using fraudulent documents, a payslip and a bank statement. He alleged that he was employed at GT Auto Company in Marblehall. Wesbank approved the finance application based on the fraudulent documents presented,' Lieutenant Colonel Sekgotodi Dineo said at the time.
After the approval, Aphane collected the vehicle, a Suzuki Ertiga.
Jacob Aphane was sentenced after he used fraudulent documents to purchase a Suzuki Ertiga.
Image: File Picture
However, Aphane did not pay the monthly instalments for more than three months.
'The bank tried to locate him, but he was not found. The matter was reported to the Hawks' Middelburg-based serious commercial crime investigation for further probe. During the investigation, it was established that the company (which Aphane claimed to work for) does not exist,' said Sekgotodi.
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