Alleged bogus doctor in court on multiple fraud charges
Abri Gert Kruger, 35, appeared before magistrate Constance Nziweni who, at the request of prosecutor Thersia du Toit-Smit, postponed the case to January 25 next year for trial.
One of his alleged victims was Ronel de Jager, the senior prosecutor in the Bellville Regional Court.
Prosecutor du Toit-Smit told the court that the investigation, involving R1,8 million, was ongoing, and so far involved six dockets.
The dockets related to a case in Paarl involving R991,000, three cases in Goodwood (R521,000), one in Durbanville (R158,000) and one in Bellville (R200,000).
Kruger will face six counts of fraud, with theft as the alternatives, perpetrated between 2010 and 2014.
The State alleges that, whilst out on R10,000 bail on unrelated fraud charges, Kruger duped victims into advancing to him huge sums of money in the current matter.
The fact that Kruger allegedly perpetrated fraud on such a large scale, whilst out on bail in another fraud matter, make the current fraud charges a Schedule 5 case.
This means that, if found guilty, he faces a minimum sentence of 15 years, the prosecutor said.
It’s alleged that Kruger told his victims that he was a medical practitioner from a medical school in the UK.
He allegedly assured his victims that the loans would be repaid as soon as he received a large sum from the HSBC bank in the UK.
In March, Kruger was refused bail when he appeared in the Goodwood District Court, before magistrate Sean Lea. However, he was released on R40,000 when he took his application to the Western Cape High Court on appeal.
ANA