A Free State man will spend time behind bars after he was sentenced in the Bethlehem Magistrate’s Court for vehicle fraud.
Mlodi Van Rooi Mpofane, 32, was convicted on charges of fraud and theft.
He was arrested by members of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as Hawks) on August 3, 2022.
The provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Christopher Singo, said the arrest stems from an incident that took place in June 2021.
“It was reported that Mpofane approached a car dealership in Harrismith and applied for financing of five vehicles to the value of R3,241,862. He then submitted all the required documents to the sales department at the dealership. The sales department forwarded these documents to the bank so that the bank could finance the vehicles,” Singo said.
Mpofane’s application for finance was approved by the bank and he was requested by the dealership to bring along his identity document and driver’s license when he collects the vehicles.
“Mpofane collected all the vehicles after submitting all the required documents. During the verification of Mpofane's documents by the finance department, it was discovered that the bank statements and proof of income were fraudulent,” Singo said.
The matter was reported to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team based in Bethlehem for further investigation.
All five vehicles were repossession and recovered by the bank.
Mpofane was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment wholly suspended for give years on the condition he is not convicted of the same offence during the period of suspension.
The court also ordered him unfit to possess a firearm.