Property developer sentenced for fraud
A property developer who took deposits amounting to R1.5 million from indigenous home seekers, for the construction of low cost RDP houses on land that he did not own, was on Friday effectively jailed for seven years.
Ashraf van Wyk, 53, the former owner of the now non-existent company, Nationwide Mortgage Express, was sentenced by magistrate Amrith Chabilall in the Belville Specialised Commercial Crime Court on 199 counts of fraud.
He protested his innocence to the very end, and told the court :
"I am not guilty of fraud - I do not have a criminal mind, and I am not guilty of criminal behaviour."
In a desperate attempt to stay out of prison, he said the compensation of the victims was "uttermost on my mind".
As proof of remorse, he offered to make six payments of R300, 000 per month, as from the end of August.
Chabilall said Van Wyk had a propensity for dishonesty, and added : "It is time for you to start earning an honest living, by working hard like everyone else, as opposed to pie in the sky, names dropping and trying to ride on the back of people in high places."
Chabilall said Van Wyk's proposal to pay off the compensation in monthly instalments "did not make sense" and the court did not accept his ability to make such payments.
Chabilall said poor and honest victims had come to court to testify, and he agreed with prosecutor Sylvan Afrika that Van Wyk had "not even paid lip service" to the question of remorse.
Chabilall described the fraud as inexcusable and his offer of compensation as "a scheme to avoid a jail sentence".
Chabilall said Van Wyk had used his aged mother to testify about the consequences for her and the family if he went to prison.
Van Wyk's use of his mother for this purpose was despicable, Chabilall said.
He added : "At the moment, you are heading in one direction - to jail."
He said the victims were likely to curse Van Wyk for the rest of their lives, and the court had a duty to them as well as the public to ensure that justice was done.