Durban - A Durban beautician and 10 other people who worked an elaborate scheme to defraud Standard Bank of more than R27 million have been arrested and have had their assets seized.
Cam-Aron Aidan Pillay, 20, Junaid Khan, 24, Fatima Ershad, 43, Kevin Pillay, 33, Rajesh Dewduth, 39, Dhanraj Ramsunder, 44, Wendy Mvundla, 23, Kaylin Salik, 19, Malvin Valayundan, 31, Govindma Moonsamy, 58, and Nadine Govindasamy, 41, appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court yesterday on 22 counts of fraud.
Gangai told the court that the kingpins obtained copies of their victims’ identity documents and then ran a credit check. If they qualified for a loan, the application for vehicle finance would be processed online.He said some of the unsuspecting victims were picked off the streets. The account would then be activated with card swipes and deposits. After three months of transactions, the kingpins would then make an online application for vehicle finance, the source said.
The court heard that the amount received by each accused varied. Khan, who works at an engineering company, financed a vehicle for R425 000 and was paid R45 000. Pillay signed for two vehicles worth R641 000 each and was paid only R1000. Valayundan, who has a previous conviction for being in possession of pirated CDs, received finance worth R338 000.