Pretoria - The Mmabatho Regional Court sentenced Priscilla Zingiwe Molosiwa, 63, to 11 years in prison for fraud.
According to police, in September 2011, Molosiwa pretended to be a real estate agent and represented a homeowner who wanted to sell her house in Montshiwa, Mafikeng.
Molosiwa subsequently found a buyer who made a transfer of R200 000 into her bank account as she had represented herself as the facilitator to transfer the property.
“She, however, appropriated the money for her own benefit and failed to facilitate the transfer,” North West spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso said.
Molosiwa used the same modus operandi on another unsuspecting victim in December 2013.
“After the potential buyer transferred an amount of R294 000 which was the purchase price of another property in Montshiwa, she allegedly only transferred R100 000 to the seller and kept the balance for herself,” Rikhotso said.
In May 2014 in the same township, she defrauded another buyer who had transferred R350 000 in her account to buy a house.
Molosiwa defrauded her victims of over half a million rand.
The three counts of fraud were investigated by the Hawks and it was discovered that the accused was not registered with the Estate Agents Board.
She was arrested and released on R2 000 bail.
Molosiwa was also served with a confiscation order and has until July 28 to file responding affidavits.
The Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation in North West, Major General Patrick Mbotho, welcomed the sentence and commended the investigating officer and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for their work.
IOL