Man runs with wedding money
2010-09-02
Lise Beyers
THE dream of a fairy-tale wedding for various brides of Paarl has come crashing down, after a local businessman allegedly took their money and ran. Jeff Franciscus, originally from Namibia, moved to the area more than a year ago with much fanfare and flashy sports cars. He claimed that he had bought Klein Nederburg farm in Klein Drakenstein, and soon started promoting the farm as a wedding venue and guest-house. One bride, who wishes to remain anonymous, said that she booked the venue after seeing an advertisement. “The venue met our requirements and the price was good. He wanted R4000 for the venue, but said that if I could produce the cash within 48 hours, we could book the venue for R2000. “The following day he phoned me again and asked where the money was, because he had other people who were interested in the venue for the same date. “I immediately went and paid him and started planning my dream wedding, happy that the venue was secured.” But on Friday this came to an end, when the Sheriff of the Court evicted Franciscus from the farm for outstanding rent of more than R100 000. He had never bought the farm as claimed, but had been renting it from the owner who lives in Britain. “When I received the news of his eviction, I immediately phoned him, and he promised to transfer my money directly into my bank account. But there has been no payment and I cannot reach him by phone.” On further investigation by Paarl Post, it has come to light that Franciscus is a colourful character who has a trail of clashes with the law. A charge of fraud is currently being investigated against him by the Kuil’s River police, after investors allegedly invested more than R1 million in his company, Proximitas Investments 123. Franciscus allegedly lured investors by mentioning that amongst his friends were politicians like president Jacob Zuma and Trevor Manuel. Franciscus allegedly told investors he had contributed R8 million towards the legal fees of Zuma. He has also recently been in the news after clinching a deal with the SA National Civics Organisation (Sanco) to teach residents of Khayelitsha to build concrete toilets. Fransciscus claims to have a civils company called Darrow Pre-Cast, but there is no record of such a company. At least one of the brides has laid a charge of fraud against Franciscus at Paarl police station.
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