Cape Town - A Delft man has made his second appearance in the Bellville Regional Court after he was arrested for allegedly running an elaborate online scam, exploiting dozens of women as a fashion model agent.
Brent Davids, 39, from Voorbrug, Delft, on Wednesday appeared in the Bellville Regional Court where he faces two counts of extortion and fraud. Davids was granted R1 500 bail but has failed to pay the amount and is currently in custody.
Davids was arrested in February after police uncovered he had allegedly been extorting women under the guise of a model recruiter.
Davids apparently managed the scam alone, creating multiple fake social media profiles to target women of all races and ages, using a computer from the comfort of his home.
The State on Thursday indicated that it would bring further charges against Davids as the investigating team was still tallying the charges that emanate from the voluminous docket.
At this stage, only two complainants, including a major retail brand, have been listed on the charge sheet but this list of victims is expected to grow along with the list of charges.
It is alleged that Davids would contact the women using fraudulent social media profiles, pretending to work for a leading retail fashion group.
After making contact as a supposed talent recruiter, he would request their personal information and use it as leverage to extort intimate photographs from them at a later stage.
The State contends that Davids, fraudulently posing as a recruiter, would request intimate videos and photographs from the victims, claiming that they would be used for modelling campaigns.
Davids apparently ran the scam between May 2021 and February 2022 and threatened that he would post his victims’ personal information online and brand them as prostitutes after demanding that they send him intimate photos.
If the women ended communication with him, Davids would allegedly, “threaten to expose them”.