R3 million dating scam case postponed after lawyer's no-show in court

Three men have appeared in court after they were arrested by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, for defrauding an unsuspecting woman of her R3 million in a dating scam.

Last week, IOL reported that a third suspect was arrested for an intense scam where an unidentified woman lost R3 million in the name of love, back in 2024.

The victim, whose identity is withheld to protect her from victimisation, said she developed an online relationship with a person she believed was a white man called “Mark Hermanus”, whom she had met on Facebook.

Gauteng Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Thatohatsi Mavimbela said after exchanging numbers, the woman and the scammer started chatting on WhatsApp, and once they had “gotten to know each other", the scammer asked her to lend him money to pay the medical bills of his sick son.

But these weren’t modest medical bills, and the unsuspecting woman eventually parted with R3 million, which she deposited into two bank accounts.

After the crime was reported to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit, an investigation ensued and the first suspect, Gabriel Okori, was arrested in Cape Town in October 2024. Okori, a Nigerian national, was in November released on bail of R5,000 in November. Okori has been attending his court appearances on charges of fraud and theft.

In March, IOL reported that a second suspect, Justice Motsamai Khanyapa, was arrested in connection with the scam. Khanyapa was arrested in Orange Farm, Johannesburg, and he was released on bail of R1,000 by the Pretoria Magistrate's Court.

A third suspect, Thabo Derrick Mnguni, was arrested on 23 June.

All three accused men - Okori, Khanyapa, and Mnguni have appeared before court on Tuesday, and the case was postponed as Mnguni did not have legal representation. Mnguni was schduled to apply for bail. Okori and Khanyapa are already on bail.

"The lawyer for the third suspect did not show up in court. The matter was postponed to 9 July 2025," said Mavimbela.

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According to the Hawks, the money defrauded from the unsuspecting woman had been deposited into the bank accounts of Khanyapa and Mnguni.

Meanwhile, head of the Hawks in Gauteng, Major General Ebrahim Kadwa, commended the “meticulous investigation” conducted by the investigating team, and cautioned members of the public to be vigilant and safeguard themselves against such scams.

For more than a year, IOL has been running the scammed series where several women and men have lost their hard-earned money, including pensions and bank loans, through romance scams. The victims have regrouped and are knocking on different doors, demanding answers.

jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za

IOL News