Lise BeyersCHEQUE fraudsters have been running rampant in Paarl, causing various businesses losses of thousands of rands.
Two of these businesses, Beds4U and Boulevard Liquors, in central Paarl, have together lost R37 000 due to false cheques.
The manager of Beds4U, Sam Mponeng, said that a man identifying himself as J Dube entered the business last Monday and asked for a quotation for six double bed base sets.
“The price was R22 500 and he said that he would deposit the full amount into our bank account.
“The next day he contacted us and said that he had deposited the full amount and I confirmed that it had been deposited at the Epping branch of our bank.
“He said that he would send someone to pick up the goods and we were convinced that the transaction was in order.”
“Shortly hereafter we were informed by our bank that the cheque had bounced. All the details which he had given us, including the registration number of the vehicle, were false.
“Now we are sitting with our hands in our hair and no sign of our money or beds.”
While Dube was defrauding Beds4U, he had already selected his next victim.
Francois Conradie of Boulevard Liquors received a phone call from a man, also identifying himself as J Dube. This time he wanted a quotation for alcohol.
“He said that he was from Mbekweni Liquors and he accepted my quote of R15 696.
“It was agreed that he would pay the money into my account and I told him that it had to be a cash and not a cheque payment.”
This is when things started going horribly wrong for Conradie.
“He faxed the deposit slip to me and it indeed indicated that the payment had been made in cash at Nedbank, Belhar.
“I even took extra precautions and contacted the bank to hear whether the payment was cash. They verified this.”
And so Dube sent a minibus taxi and trailer to pick up the liquor and Conradie was feeling quite comfortable about the sale.
“But two days later I had the shock of my life when my bank informed me that the cheque had bounced.”
The faxed deposit slip which Conradie received showed that the payment was in cash, but after the fraud, Nedbank sent him a deposit slip which indicated that the payment was indeed a cheque.
“I am extremely upset about this as the bank had told me that the payment was cash and another slip also showed the payment to be in cash. I feel that Nedbank has been very negligent in handling the case and they are just saying to me, ‘sorry, we cannot help’.”
Conradie is adamant that he will take the case further.
The police are investigating both incidents.
* An alleged fraudster was arrested in Paarl on Saturday after having also bought goods with stolen cheques.
The man from Johannesburg has been living in Enslin Street, Paarl, for the past month and has been impersonating a lawyer.
According to reports he befriended people and told them that he was wanting to start a business practice in Paarl. He would then steal their cheque books.
He had already signed cheques for millions of rands for vehicles and houses which he put on order, as well as jewellery.
But his wings were clipped on Monday morning when he once again went into Cash Concepts in Lady Grey Street to buy various goods such as cellphones, DVD-players and digital games.
He had been in this shop previously, but the cheque that he used as payment had been a stolen one and staff were alerted by this and were able to recognise him on his return.
The police were alerted and his fraudulent ways started to unfold.
The police are investigating the possibility that he is involved in similar activities countrywide.
