Christian Botha, Private Investigator

Case Files  |  Car Scam

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Articles:  Matthew Ramsden
Courtesy of Daily Dispatch

EAST LONDON:  Police are to probe an alleged car scam after a Southernwood store worker lost R1800 in an attempt to buy his dream vehicle. Tim Labuschagne, 19, claimed yesterday that he had been duped after reading a circular from a firm calling itself "Motoring Wholesale cc". He has called in East London private detective Christian Botha to investigate. On January 5, Labuschagne saw an R18000 Toyota Conquest RSI advertised in a circular. He phoned the company to purchase the vehicle and was instructed to deposit R1800 into a designated bank account. He did not receive the vehicle despite several phone calls to the firm. On January 11 he was told the car was in Braelynn. "I knew immediately it was a scam and decided to take action,"he said. Botha quickly determined that the bank account in which the deposit had been made was in the name of Mr Tshilangano Ndou of Benoni. Botha said that he contacted Ndou, who told him that his card had been lost some time ago and he had not used the account since. Botha instructed him to withdraw all the money from the account as soon as possible and send R1800 to him so that Labuschagne could be re-imbursed. More damning evidence came from Howard Boswell of the Automobile Association (AA) which "Motoring Wholesalers cc" claimed to be approved by. Boswell said he had phoned the company to ask why they were claiming to be AA-approved and the man started "spluttering" and battling to answer. A criminal case had been opened with the East London fraud unit and anyone else who had dealings with the company should contact them on 083-651-0707.

EAST LONDON:  Following a report in yesterday's Daily Dispatch, six more people have come forward claiming they were victims of an alleged car sale fraud by a firm calling itself Motoring Wholesalers cc. In a further development, a Johannesburg man whose personal details had been used by the firm without his knowledge revealed he had lost his identity book at a Gauteng Home Affairs Department office. This prompted fears that the missing book had been used to open a bank account in his name. Private investigator Christian Botha was yesterday inundated with information after the Dispatch reported that a teenage Southernwood shop worker, Tim Labuschagne, had lost R1800 in dealings with the company. After reading a circular advertising a deal, he paid the money, as a deposit on an R18000 Toyota Conquest, into the account of a Benoni man who had lost his bank card some time ago and who knew nothing of Motoring Wholesalers cc. The cc later claimed the Benoni man was a Durban-based director. Yesterday morning Botha was contacted by people from as far apart as Macleantown and Umtata who had been taken for a ride in the alleged scam. Amalinda resident Chantal Austin saidshe had paid R1000 into a Johannesburg-based bank account last Friday and had heard nothing since. She had phoned several times to ask why the car had not arrived within 24 hours as promised, but "there was always a long and involved story". Her aunt, Diane Marshall, was told she would receive a 1997 Bantam bakkie at her Amalinda home by yesterday lunch time, but it failed to arrive. Luckily she had not deposited any money, as she had decided to pay cash when the vehicle was delivered. Umtata resident Eddie White said he had acted as an informal agent for the firm last year and had never seen any vehicles materialise. When he had confronted a company representative, the cellular phone he was speaking on was switched off and never turned back on. Botha managed to contact Absa, First National Bank and Standard Bank and by last night had managed to have two bank accounts frozen in an attempt to recover the money for the alleged victims. However there were still nine known accounts in use in Johannesburg and Newcastle, KwaZulu Natal. On Monday and yesterday a Motoring Wholesalers cc employee turned his cell phone off when called and quizzed by the Daily Dispatch.

EAST LONDON:  Concerted efforts to smash an alleged car sale scam gathered pace here and in Johannesburg yesterday as local private detective Christian Botha joined forces with Standard Bank's internal audit division. Botha said two out of nine known illegal accounts at First National Bank and Standard Bank branches had been frozen and seven others were being probed to determine their authenticity. He was also trying to pinpoint the residential addresses of people whose accounts were being used without their knowledge, in order to reveal the modus operandi of alleged scam syndicate members. One of the bank account holders said this week that he had recently lost his identity book at a Home Affairs office, prompting Botha to try to find out whether the remaining eight account holders had had similar experiences. The alleged scam was highlighted earlier this week when Southernwood store worker Tim Labuschagne, 19, told how he lost R1800 when he tried to buy an R18000 Toyota Conquest from a firm calling itself Motoring Wholesalers cc. Labuschagne deposited the cash in the account of a Mr TNdou, but the car failed to arrive as promised, despite the continuing assurances from syndicate members whose cell phone numbers he continued to call. After a report on Labuschagne's experience appeared in the Daily Dispatch, many people contacted Botha from as far apart as Macleantown and Umtata. Standard Bank's internal audit division chief, Charles White, said from Johannesburg an employee had been dispatched to branches where seven illegally used accounts were registered. A thorough check would be carried out to determine whether the accounts did belong to the people whose names and identity numbers had been used to open them.

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