Johannesburg – An Eastern Cape fraudster has been convicted of fraud in the East London Regional Court on charges of fraud, for cloning bank cards and using them to buy fuel.
The Hawks in the Eastern Cape said Khayalethu Sandile, 46, was arrested in October two years ago on the charges.
He was denied bail and remanded in custody, until he was briefly released as officials acted in compliance with Covid-19 regulations.
“It is reported that on October 7, 2019 Sandile was arrested driving a truck with containers which he had filled with fuel in one of the East London filling stations using a cloned card.
“The matter was reported to East London Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team for further probing.
“The Hawks investigation positively linked him to similar incidents in various filling stations around East London,” said Eastern Cape Hawks spokesperson Captain Yolisa Mgolodela.
She said the convicted fraudster would use cloned cards encoded with account information of Standard Bank clients, whereas the clients were in possession of their original bank cards.
“Sandile’s conduct prejudiced Standard Bank clients cash to the value of R133 000.
“The conviction on April 26, emanates from a number of court appearances in the East London Regional Court.
“The matter is remanded for June 11 for sentencing,” said Mgolodela.
The East London Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team is once more lauded by the provincial head Major-General Mboiki Obed Ngwenya for ensuring that perpetrators face the consequences of their actions, added Mgolodela.
IOL