Jail for jobless Capetonian who conned banks for R1‚5m vehicle finance

13 October 2017 - 17:29 By Philani Nombembe
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File Photo of a prison jail cell.
File Photo of a prison jail cell.
Image: Gallo Images/Thinkstock

A Cape Town man’s love for finer things in life has come back to haunt him - he was bust for duping three major banks into financing his top of range cars to the tune of R1.5-million.

Michael Philander‚ who is unemployed and lives with his in-laws‚ left car dealerships with Audi A5‚ a Golf GTI2. 0T and two Land Rover Discoveries in 2014 by claiming that he earned a fat salary.

Now Philander‚ 60‚ will spend the next years in prison after the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sentenced him on Friday.

He entered into a plea and sentencing agreement with the State.

Eric Ntabazalila‚ spokesman for the prosecution in the Western Cape‚ said Philander deceived the banks by providing documents claiming that he worked at Great Big Traders in Ottery and earned more than R39-million monthly. He also provided fake bank records.

“As result of the submission of the above documents‚ the banks processed and approved the applications‚” said Ntabazalila. “Later it was discovered that the accused was not employed at Great Big Traders‚ nor did he earn the salary as indicated on the salary advice. The salary advice was falsified.”

The Golf was involved in an accident and the other cars were repossessed by the banks.

Prosecutor Denzyl Combrink said: “The nature and gravity of the offences he committed are serious. These crimes are prevalent within this jurisdiction and impact negatively on the economy and the victims of these crimes.”


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