A woman who advertised grocery deals on social media and then allegedly fleeced clients out of their money will appear in the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court on Friday.
Debbie Anne van Niekerk, 35, faces 23 counts of fraud and theft, totaling R236,272.
She also faces an additional charge of defeating the ends of justice.
The alleged offences were committed between November 30 2016 and February.
It is alleged van Niekerk enticed people to buy groceries she claimed to have bought cheaply from various factories, butcheries and supermarkets.
Some of the items included meat, cleaning products, cigarettes, alcohol and baby diapers.
Payments were expected to be made in full before delivery, according to the charge sheet.
“She supplied order lists, listing all the goods for sale and their prices,” states the charge sheet.
“She would not be in the position or it was not her intention to supply and deliver all the goods to all the persons as undertaken and represented.”Only on a few occasions did van Niekerk fulfil the orders, the state alleges.
Other times, she either made partial deliveries or none at all, according to the charge sheet.
When confronted by clients, the state alleges van Niekerk made various excuses and promised to either refund the money or deliver the full order.
Van Niekerk managed to only pay back R36,468.
It is not clear if she ever made a full delivery.
She also created the impression to buyers that her suppliers were from well-known food outlets such as Finro.
And in bid to cover up her alleged web of deceit van Niekerk approached the Despatch police station where she falsely opened up a criminal case against Finro worker Imhran Pillay on March 31 2017 where she claimed R78,544 was being kept by him.
The state alleges that van Niekerk created the fictitious WhatsApp messages and SMSs to herself – showing that Pillay had either made off with the money or goods.
“The information provided by the accused was false and fictitious. It was later discovered the mobile number she supplied were in fact registered in her [own name].”
One woman lost out R83,400 after allegedly trying to buy groceries from van Niekerk.
Others lost out between R580 to R41,500.
Van Niekerk appeared in the Uitenhage Magistrate’s Court on July 13 where she was denied bail and her case was transferred to the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court.
The Herald reported in July that van Niekerk was grabbed by residents and taxi drivers just as she was allegedly about to strike again.
This was according to Concerned Citizens of the PE Metro WhatsApp group chairperson Farouk Jephta.
“She was arrested in Durban Road and everyone is happy about that,” he said at the time.