Port Elizabeth accountant in court over R8.3m fraud
A Port Elizabeth accountant who worked for a national footwear retailer is facing 37 charges of fraud amounting to R8.3m after an alleged scam in which he also claimed he was kidnapped, robbed of his Mercedes-Benz and forced to transfer R343,000 out of his bank account.
Ravishkar Ramgoolam appeared on Friday in the Port Elizabeth commercial crimes court, where he also faces an additional charge of defeating the administration of justice.
This is after Ramgoolam claimed he was kidnapped, intimidated, had his MercedesBenz stolen and was forced to transfer R343,000 from his bank account.
On Friday, Ramgoolam – who is out on bail – had his case postponed to November 5.
It is alleged that between February 2016 and May 2017, Ramgoolam defrauded Street Fever in Port Elizabeth of R8,392,847 by substituting the banking details of his employer’s creditors with his own.
Ramgoolam then allegedly received 37 deposits into nine different bank accounts in his name.
“[Ramgoolam] fraudulently substituted the banking details . . . resulting in large amounts of money being paid into the said bank accounts by Street Fever,” reads the charge sheet.
According to the charge sheet, on May 18 2017 Ramgoolam was approached by Haroon Bemat and Dawood Bemat of the Street Fever franchise about the alleged theft.
The state claims Ramgoolam then voluntarily transferred about R343,000 to Dawood’s bank account.
The following day, during a meeting with Haroon, Dawood and attorney Tracey Lynn Watson-Gill, Ramgoolam signed an admission of guilt document that Watson-Gill had drafted.
He also surrendered his Mercedes-Benz to the Bemats.
But three days later, he had a change of mind and reported a case of intimidation, kidnapping, theft of a motor vehicle and the theft of R343,000 at the Humewood police station.
On Friday, defence attorney Louis van Heerden told magistrate Lionel Lindoor that Ramgoolam was seeking new counsel.
Van Heerden asked the court to postpone the matter to November 5 for Ramgoolam’s new legal counsel to study the docket and other related information.
Lindoor granted the postponement.
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