Nomakhosi Veronica Gans (40) appeared before the Bloemfontein Magistrates’ court on Thursday, 10 February 2022 where she was convicted and sentenced as charged for fraud, forgery, contravention of the Estate Agency Affairs Act and money laundering.
Her conviction originates from the incident which took place during the period of May 2017, where the victim deposited the money to Gans Property Investments for purchasing of houses at Mafora, Bloemfontein.
Later, Gans contacted the victim and indicated that the properties at Mafora are no longer for sale and she will search for other properties. The victim then told Gans that she is not interested in other properties and she then requested a refund of R175 000-00 which she deposited to Gans Property Investment.
Gans then told the victim that her company is experiencing some financial difficulties and she will refund the money at a later stage. After numerous follow-ups were made with Gans, no money was received by the victim.
The matter was then reported to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team based in Bloemfontein for further investigation which culminated to Gans being served with summons on 12 June 2020. She appeared in court on several occasions concluding to her recent conviction.
The court sentenced Gans to eight years imprisonment for fraud which is suspended for five years on condition that she refunds the victim a total amount of R175 000 on or before 31 December 2024.
Three years imprisonment for forgery, five years imprisonment for contravening the Estate Agency Affairs Act and another five years imprisonment for money laundering which is suspended for five years.
