Vereeniging fraudster sentenced to 75 years in jail for fraud

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A fraudster, Christjan Hendrik Coetzer, has been sentenced to 75 years imprisonment on multiple counts of fraud, theft and money laundering worth almost one million rand.

The Johannesburg specialised commercial crime court (SCCC) ordered the sentences to run concurrently, resulting in an effective imprisonment term of 20 years.

According to Phindi Mjonondwane, National Prosecuting Authority Gauteng spokesperson, in October 9, 2015, Coetzer was in the company of a white lady who misrepresented herself as Angelia Evangelia Kallinkos.

She said the convict arrived at ABSA Vereeniging branch and pretended to be an attorney of the High Court of South Africa.

“He further stated that he was lawfully appointed by the holder of the bank account (Kallinkos) and that he should be granted access to perform transactions from his client’s account.

“The consultant believed this misrepresentation and granted the required access. Between October 9 and November 7, 2015, a sum of R956,900 was transferred from the real Mrs Kallinkos’ account to that of the accused.

“The lawful holder of the account reported the case after a shocking discovery that all her money was gone,” she explained.

Coetzer was arrested where he was applying for bail in another matter, the court heard.

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Mjonondwane highlighted that the State argued that the accused was not a first offender and has a number of previous convictions, including a pending case before the SCCC where he was released on bail of R100 000.

“The State further argued that ABSA Bank suffered reputational damage because in the mind of the holder of the targeted account and those close to her, the bank failed to protect her savings,” she added.