The Bellville Commercial Crimes Court has sentenced a couple and a car dealer salesperson to direct imprisonment after convicting them on several counts of receiving stolen property and fraud.
On 9 March, the court convicted Marius Coetzee on 73 counts of receiving stolen property and sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment of which 10 years was suspended with conditions. His wife Catherine Elizabeth Coetzee was convicted on 73 counts of fraud and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment of which 6 years were suspended with conditions. Mariette Cupido, who worked for a car dealership in Malmesbury, was convicted on two counts of fraud and sentenced to 60 days’ imprisonment and 24 months’ correctional supervision.
During the trial, the court heard how the accused conspired to defraud financial institutions through forged bank statements, in support of fraudulent applications at the car dealership for vehicle finance on behalf of potential buyers.
Coetzee and his wife worked as agents, or spotters for Cupido and solicited personal details of potential buyers, which included their identity documents, driver’s licences and bank statements as supporting documents for purposes of offers to purchase or finance applications on behalf of potential buyers.
They also informed the financial institutions that extras would be fitted into the vehicles. They then submitted the offers to purchase with the forged documents to the car dealership in Malmesbury. The applications were approved and vehicle finance agreements worth R25,8 million were signed. The dealer paid more than R6 million into the bank account of Coetzee. They further lied to the potential buyers that they were owners of the vehicles and that instalments must be paid to them. As a result the potential buyers took the vehicles and paid the instalments into the accused’s bank accounts.
They received R341 450, but failed to pay that amount to the financial institutions. The vehicles were subsequently confiscated and returned to the dealer. The state prosecutor called nine state witnesses, argued about the large number of charges and actual losses of approximately R13,5 million. The accused were convicted and sentenced.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomed the sentence.
