Tshwarelo Hunter Mogakane
Pretoria - Femicide convict Sandile Kagiso Montsoe, 33, is facing new charges relating to an elaborate investment scheme that targeted 180 public servants working for different government departments and municipalities.
Montsoe, who is the sole director of Trillion Dollar Legacy, is accused of luring unsuspecting government employees into investing R2 million into his company.
The alleged crimes happened two years before he was arrested in connection with fatally stabbing his 22-year-old ex-girlfriend, Karabo Mokoena, and burning her body in a field in Joburg in 2018.
Montsoe appeared in the Evander Regional Court in Mpumalanga on charges of fraud this week after being subpoenaed while serving his sentence at the privately managed Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein.
“It is alleged that during December 2016, the accused visited many government offices, including the Department of Justice, municipality offices, and the Department of Education, whereby he recruited about 180 investors to invest over R2m for a higher return on investment.
“It is further alleged the accused did not make a payment to his clients as promised, and the victims reported the matter at the Evander police station on December 27, 2016,” said Hawks provincial spokesperson Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi yesterday.
The investment scheme has been under police investigation for six years.
There was a breakthrough when Hawks later took over the case.
“During investigation, it was established that the accused was in prison serving 35 years for the murder of his girlfriend which occurred between 2018/2019.
“After the case was finalised, it was presented before the Evander Regional Court where a subpoena was issued for him to appear before court on Tuesday (yesterday),” she said.
Montsoe’s fraud case was postponed to September 27 for further investigation.
He has been remanded in custody.
Hawks provincial head Major-General Zodwa Mokoena has welcomed the arrest. “We warn the public to refrain from investing money with unscrupulous fraudsters. Those who have already fallen for these tricks should report to the police immediately.”
Karabo Mokoena’s murder attracted international headlines and cast a spotlight on the country’s femicide crisis.
Many were horrified after learning here was a possibility the victim could have been burnt alive.
This after pathologist Malerato Ramela testified that the post-mortem report was inconclusive on whether the victim’s body was set alight before or after her death.
Her killer initially told the South Gauteng High Court in Joburg that he had set her body alight using petrol and a tyre, after he discovered the victim’s dead body in his flat in Sandton.
Montsoe claimed the victim had committed suicide by stabbing herself.
He tried to convince the court that Mokoena was a violent woman.
Pretoria News