Durban - A couple, who ran a fake holiday scam, have been sentenced in the Durban Regional Court.
The NPA sentenced Megasen Roland Chetty, 38, and Sarasvathi Belinda Pillay, 47, to 10 years direct imprisonment on 18 charges of fraud.
"The accused defrauded people of their money to a total of R1.2 million, promising them to secure a discounted holidays abroad and locally," said KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Nqobile Gwala.
The crimes were committed between February 2018 and October 2019.
She said the pair were positively linked to 14 counts of fraud that they had committed in Chatsworth, Phoenix, Malvern, Town Hill, Tongaat and other areas.
Following their arrest, The Post interviewed a couple who had fallen victim to the holiday scam.
The couple, who preferred not to be named, had been married for just a year were searching for holiday deals at the time aboard the MSC.
They told the publication that they were told it would cost them R1 000 per person for a cabin for four.
The couple booked the trip for April that year and spread the word of the special offer to family, friends, and their business clients.
"We then became the middlemen. We paid a total of about R60 000 for a few cabins for friends, family, and clients for different times of the year," she said.
She became suspicious when she asked for the tickets and excuses were made.
"The lady told me that she could only get the tickets a week before the scheduled trip due to the special," she said.
The couple, and two friends expected to accompany them, continued to prepare for the trip.
"We bought clothes and other items, and we were ready to go. But when we tried calling her, she would not answer," she said.
The trip never came and they knew she had been scammed. The couple is alleged to have used a front company called RnB Workwear to conduct their dealings.
IOL