Amora Electrical (Pvt) Ltd, a company based in Plumtree, has fallen victim to a fraudulent scheme, losing over ZAR100 000 to an alleged con artist in a botched tender deal.
The company was approached by an individual identified as Eric Maposa, who falsely represented himself as the procurement manager for Entuba Coal Mine. Maposa expressed interest in purchasing corrugated belts, leading to the fraudulent transaction.
Speaking to CITE, Eulitah Dube, a representative of Amora Electrical, recounted how Maposa initially contacted them, claiming he wanted to add their company to Entuba Coal Mine’s supplier database. Shortly afterwards, he requested a quotation for ten DS1045 corrugated belts.
“We have a family business that frequently handles tenders. In August, Maposa reached out, asking for our email address so he could add us to their supplier database. He claimed to be a procurement officer for Entuba Coal Mine Colliery,” Dube explained.
Dube further described how they researched online to source the requested goods and eventually secured them from a company in Cape Town, South Africa, called Drake and Scull.
“We received a quotation from Drake and Scull and forwarded it to Maposa. He quickly responded, agreeing with the quotation and sending us a letter of undertaking and a purchase order, with a cash-on-delivery arrangement. We informed him that we would travel to Cape Town to complete the purchase, but he insisted that his agent there could handle the payment on our behalf, and we would reimburse him,” Dube narrated.
In hindsight, Dube noted that Maposa never inquired about the exact location of the supplier. The salesperson at Drake and Scull confirmed that an agent had come to pay for the order, and the goods would be dispatched from Cape Town to Hwange. An invoice for ZAR126,135 was sent to Amora Electrical.
On the agreed-upon Friday, Maposa contacted Dube, requesting that they transfer the agent’s money into an FNB account registered under Maditse Plumbing (Pvt) Ltd. Dube and her team proceeded to make several payments, totalling ZAR109,250, leaving a balance of ZAR16,885.
“When the truck supposedly left Cape Town, we were given the driver’s details, vehicle type, and registration number. We communicated with the driver, who claimed to be en route to Zimbabwe. However, suspicion arose when the driver insisted he wouldn’t proceed until the final payment was made. How would a driver know about payment arrangements?” Dube questioned.
Their concerns grew when the driver claimed to have crossed into Zimbabwe but was evasive when asked for proof. Dube and her team conducted their investigation, contacting Zimborders, ZIMRA, and Zinara, only to discover that there was no record of the truck entering Zimbabwe. Additionally, they realised that the registration number provided was fake.
“When we refused to pay the balance and demanded a refund, Maposa threatened that the truck would be turned back to Cape Town. After that, they blocked us on WhatsApp, and the salesperson from Drake and Scull stopped responding to our calls and messages. Just like that, we lost ZAR109,250,” Dube lamented.
Subsequent inquiries revealed that other companies had been similarly scammed by Maposa, who had been using the names of legitimate companies like Makomo Resources and Entuba Mine. Both companies confirmed receiving multiple reports about the fraudster and had filed police reports.
Dube confirmed that a report has been made to the South African police, and investigations are ongoing. Efforts to reach Maposa for comment were unsuccessful, as the provided contact details were no longer functional.
