A 44-year-old man who submitted fraudulent documents for vehicle finance at Toyota in Ottery more than 10 years ago, has been sentenced to an effective two years’ imprisonment.
The Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sentenced Zayid Dawood Karrim for forgery, fraud and contravention of the National Credit Act.
Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said Karrim had rented the vehicle to someone who tried to cross the border into Zimbabwe in 2012.
“A complaint was received of vehicle finance fraud at Ottery Toyota in October 2010 through Wesbank, where Karrim inflated bank statements and submitted false payslips during the application of a vehicle worth R665 635.
“He failed to pay his monthly instalments and to inform the bank of the vehicle’s whereabouts, after he had sub-rented the vehicle. The person to whom he rented the vehicle tried to cross Beitbridge into Zimbabwe in 2012, and that is where the fraud was discovered.
“Karrim was arrested in 2015, and during the court appearances, he absconded. He was traced and rearrested by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team on a warrant of arrest, which later led to him handing himself over to the team on August 22, 2022, for contempt of court relating to two of his previous court attendances pertaining to vehicle finance fraud in 2022. He was previously released on R5 000 bail in both cases,” said Hani.
Karrim was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for forgery, 12 months’ imprisonment for contravention of the National Credit Act and six years’ imprisonment for fraud, of which four years was suspended.
“Effectively, Karrim will serve two years direct imprisonment, and he will be appearing on August 28, 2023, on the 2022 matter,” said Hani.
Cape Times