VARIOUS businesses around Grahamstown have fallen victim to a con artist who is still wanted by the police on different criminal charges.
VARIOUS businesses around Grahamstown have fallen victim to a con artist who is still wanted by the police on different criminal charges.
The suspect rented a car under false pretence; stole a cheque book and booked for accommodation without paying.
On the 19 March, the suspect who goes by the name of Terrence Lewis, booked for four nights at Historic Cottages in Scotts Avenue and he promised to pay but he didn’t. Manager of Historic Cottages, Roswitha Hobson says, most people use Internet banking to pay but she didn’t receive any money from the suspect. Describing him as a presentable person, Hobson says, she called him to confirm his payment and he made up stories for his delay. The following day he booked at Lantern Hill where he didn’t lodge but came back in the morning for breakfast and then disappeared.
A local estate agent was also conned by the same suspect who gave false information, claiming that he owns a construction company. The estate agent says, the suspect send a message on her cell phone informing her that he needs premises in New Street. The so called businessman met the owner of the building to show him the premises. He then complained to the owner about certain damages on the building and asked for funding to fix them.
After an agreement was reached, a five year lease was signed and an amount of R10 700 was withdrawn from GBS. The R10 700 amount which was withdrawn for the damages, was then given to the suspect to purchase material for repairs. Unfortunately the suspect didn’t fulfil his obligation. The agent also says the suspect always came to her office without an appointment and demanded to know if she posted an advert for him because he needed tenants to rent part of the premises.
After realising that he is succeeding with his criminal actions, the trickster then went to find a new challenge, when he payed a visit to Volkswagen (VW) in New Street. Under false pretenses, he wanted to purchase a car which was not on the floor at that moment. The sales man then told the suspect that the car needs to be ordered from Uitenhage. He then rented a white Chico from VW because the car he preferred was not available.
Continuing with his criminal mission, he went back to Lantern Hill where he parked the white VW Chicco. The police were alerted and on arrival, they found the car with a few damages on it and the suspect managed to escape.
After realising that he can get away with more, he paid a visit to Videotronic in High Street to purchase a lap top bag which costs R599. His bubble burst when a salesman, Paul Prince recognised that the cheque belonged to the agent and called her to ask if she had sent anyone to buy a lap top bag. Prince described the suspect to the agent whom she says, she recognised according to the description she was given.
The estate agent says if it wasn’t for Prince, she would have lost a lot of money. "I’m gratefull for what Paul has done for me, he saved me a lot of money," she said.
