A Uitenhage man may have lost R330,000 in a black-dollar scam last year – but on Friday he received some retribution when the Port Elizabeth high court ordered that he be given a Mercedes Benz confiscated from the man who scammed him.
Rhyno Olivier had given Moses Orimutambira R330,000 in cash on May 11 2018 following promises that Orimutambira would make him rich.
But the very next day Orimutambira purchased a silver Mercedes Benz C180 – in cash – with Olivier’s money.
The age-old black-dollar scam entails conning people into believing that pieces of black or coated paper can be turned into bank notes by washing them with chemicals.
Olivier had come across Orimutambira’s services as a traditional healer in a newspaper advert.
Upon Orimutambira’s arrest, police confiscated the vehicle, as well as a further R4,200 in cash.
He was later convicted on fraud charges and is being incarcerated at St Albans Prison.
On October 16, the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) was granted a preservation order in respect of the car and money.
But on January 22, when the AFU moved for a final forfeiture order, deputy judge president David van Zyl expressed concern that the Proceeds of Organised Crime Act did not make provision for compensating victims of underlying crime, or more specifically, theft.