Bogus doctor in R1.6m fraud case
A Cape Town man has appeared in court for allegedly pretending to be a medical practitioner in order to dupe victims into lending him money.
|||Cape Town – A Cape Town man, who allegedly pretended to be a medical practitioner in order to dupe victims into lending him money, appeared in court on Monday.
Abri Gert Kruger, 35, of no fixed abode, is charged with fraud involving R1.6 million, forgery, and uttering (the presentation of forged documents).
He appeared in the Bellville Regional Court before magistrate Constance Mziweni.
Prosecutor Thersia du Toit-Smit told the court that defence advocate Grant Smith was negotiating a plea bargain with the State.
At her request, the case was rolled over to Tuesday when she is to inform the court of any progress in the negotiations.
She said Kruger would plead guilty to two counts of fraud, and that an additional three charges he faced would be resolved through mediation. The alleged fraud took place between October 2010 and February 2015.
The purpose of the mediation was to ensure that the victims got back the money that they had been duped into lending Kruger, she told the court.
It is alleged that he duped victims by falsely claiming to have graduated with a medical degree in the United Kingdom, and that he was expecting a large sum to be transferred to him from HSBC bank in the UK.
He was initially refused bail by Goodwood magistrate Sean Lea after it was alleged that he had fraudulently borrowed money, whilst out on R10 000 bail in another fraud case. His release on bail was not in the interests of justice, the magistrate ruled.
However, Kruger appealed and was later granted bail of R40 000.
African News Agency
* Use IOL’s Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.