Alleged romance scammers charged with for R3.4m fraud

Nigerian national Gabriel Okori and South African nationals Justice Khanyapa and Thabo Derrick Mnguni were previously arrested by the South African police for a scam where a woman lost R3m to an online lover. The Cape Argus reports that a further two suspects, aged 26 and 22, are appearing before the Bellville Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town following their arrest in Mfuleni and Strand respectively by the Hawks’ specialised 419 Scam Task Team. They are facing charges of fraud and money laundering. The two were arrested on Tuesday after three others were arrested in connection with the same romance scam in Pretoria. The duo’s arrest emanates from an incident reported in August 2024 at Lyttelton police station in Gauteng, where a woman claimed a man she had met online had scammed her of more than R3m. ‘The one suspect is reported to have met with the complainant online via Facebook, where their conversations migrated to WhatsApp. During this WhatsApp conversation, the suspect spun a tale to the complainant that his son was sick,’ Hawks spokesperson, Katlego Mogale said.

The woman was persuaded to lend the online lover different amounts of money. The woman transferred more than R3.4m to the man who posed as Mark Hermanus, according to the Cape Argus. The scammed woman’s identity is being withheld to protect her from secondary victimisation. Mogale said the suspect redistributed the money to his accomplices and told the complainant he would pay her back but did not do so. The Hawks 419 Scam Task Team previously arrested three other suspects in the same case. Nigerian national Gabriel Okoi, aged 40, was traced and arrested in October 2024, at Gordon’s Bay in Western Cape. He was later released on bail. The Hawks 419 Scam Task Team arrested Khanyapa at Orange Farm, in Johannesburg in March. He appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court and was released on bail of R1000. The third suspect, Mnguni, was arrested on 23 June. More arrests are expected.