Nigerian man charged to court for alleged involvement in online scam in South Africa

A Nigerian man was charged before a court in Cape Town on Monday, April 25 for his involvement  in an online scam in which victims were falsely told that they had won a Chevrolet Spark.
Ikechukwu Chigbufue, 33, his address given in the charge sheet as Gordon Sands in Gordon’s Bay, appeared in the in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Bellville before magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg.

Police arrested Chigbufue in December 2015 after a tip-off that he was on his way out from his rented apartment and has been in custody ever since. During Monday’s proceedings, prosecutor Juan Agulhas said negotiations for the plea and sentence agreement were "still on the table", and the State hoped to finalise the process one way or the other by May 12. Defence attorney Keith Gess said he also needed Chigbufue’s instructions about the “road ahead”, in the event of the negotiations collapsing.

The charge sheet alleges that Chigbufue belonged to a syndicate that falsely informed victims by SMS or WhatsApp Messenger that they had won a Chevrolet Promo Award, and that the prize was a Chevrolet Spark.

Victims were required to provide their names and surnames, residential addresses and codes, as well as their ID numbers and mobile telephone numbers. Once their winnings were "confirmed", the victims had to activate reference numbers and pay additional expenses such as registration fees, taxes, customs duties and courier services.

The victims were instructed to to pay ostensible expenses such as emergencies, and administrative costs, into bank accounts provided by the syndicate, to ensure the delivery of the vehicles.

According to IOL News, as part of the scam, Chigbufue and other members of the syndicate created fake online personalities that gave victims a false sense of security. The online personalities were portrayed as wealthy individuals who were able to repay monies advanced by victims.

The State alleges that Chigbufue used fake online profiles, including photographs and personal information, in order to bolster the veil of reliability and trust.

It is alleged that victims were targeted and befriended, on online dating sites such as Badoo.

Chigbufue faces 32 charges – 23 of fraud relating to the Chevrolet Spark scam, seven pertaining to the online dating leg of the scam, one that alleges a conspiracy to commit fraud, and a final count involving the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca).

Magistrate Sonnenberg adjourned the case to May 12, 2016.

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Amara on her part, captioned the second photo thus: "They used to hide from you, lie to you. But y'all know we were made for each other. So I find you and hold you down"

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1. "So what are you going to say at my funeral now that you've killed me? Here lies the body of the love of my life whose heart I broke without a gun to my head. Here lies the mother of my children both living and dead. Rest in peace, my true love, who I took for granted."

2. "Looking at my watch, he shoulda been home. Today I regret the night I put that ring on. He always got them f--king excuses."
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3. "He only want me when I'm not there. He better call Becky with the good hair."

Rachel Roy acknowledged this by tweeting "Good hair don't care, but we will take good lighting, for selfies, or self truths, always. Live in the light #nodramaqueens."

4. "Middle fingers up, put them hands high. Wave it in his face, tell him, boy, bye. Tell him, boy, bye, middle fingers up. I ain't thinking ‘bout you."

5. "You remind me of my father, a magician… able to exist in two places at once. In the tradition of men in my blood, you come home at 3 a.m. and lie to me. What are you hiding? The past and the future merge to meet us here. What luck. What a f--king curse."

6. "Show me your scars and I won't walk away...every promise don't work out that way."
 
7. "Ashes to ashes, dust to side chicks."


8. "You know I give you life. If you try this s--t again you're gonna lose your wife."

9. "I tried to change, closed my mouth more, tried to be softer, prettier, less awake. Fasted for 60 days, wore white, abstained from mirrors, abstained from sex, slowly did not speak another word… I grew thickened skin on my feet I bathed in bleach and plugged my menses with pages from the holy book, but still inside me, coiled deep, was the need to know…are you cheating on me?"


10. "My grandma said nothing real can be threatened. True love brought salvation back into me. With every tear came redemption. And my torture became my remedy."

At the end of Lemonade, Beyoncé sings about forgiveness and the importance of family.