Mmakgomo Doris Ngcobo appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crime Court alongside her co-accused, two Ugandan nationals, Derrick Nsubuga and Nassazi Joan.
Image: Hawks
Embattled businesswoman Mmakgomo Doris Ngcobo, 42, was remanded in custody when she appeared before the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court for allegedly scamming different people who jointly lost more than R2 million in total.
Ngcobo was arrested by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks. She is accused by different victims of romance scams of being central to the the fraudulent scheme whereby multiple women were defrauded and left nursing heartaches.
According to the scammed women, Ngcobo took part in the fraudulent scams and her role was to drive the unsuspecting women to take different banks to take out cash loans.
All the money was then handed over to the scammers – leaving the women heavily indebted and blacklisted by the commercial banks.
Ngcobo was arrested by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, after she had been on the wanted list for a few years. She was cornered and arrested in connection with the romance scams where three women lost amounts of R650,000, R250,000, and R1 million in three separate cases.
Last month, IOL reported that a Soweto-based father of six children also insists that Ngcobo was also central to the scam where he lost R1 million.
On Friday, the Hawks said the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court postponed the case against Ngcobo and her two co-accused to February next year.
Gauteng spokesperson for the Hawks, Lieutenant Colonel Lloyd Ramovha told IOL that Ngobo who is known to victims of scams only as Lebo or Linky, and her co-accused, two Ugandan nationals, Derrick Nsubuga, 34, and Nassazi Joan, 31, were remanded in custody until February 10.
Mmakgomo Doris Ngcobo appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crime Court alongside her co-accused, two Ugandan nationals, Derrick Nsubuga and Nassazi Joan.
Image: Hawks
All the victims who have opened cases against Ngcobo remember her as this swanky woman driving German sedans and adorned in Louis Vuitton apparel and accessories.
Ngcobo faces another outstanding case, and the prosecutor Alistair Appel told the court that the Limpopo woman and her co-accused were involved in romance scams amounting to R2 million.
Magistrate Sheron Soko-Rantao has previously ruled that due to the amount involved, the three accused faced a serious schedule five offence.
The Hawks in Gauteng added:“This (arrest) follows a case of fraud that was registered at Sandton police station in September 2024. The accused are two Ugandan nationals, Derrick Nsubuga, Nassazi Joan, and a South African citizen, Mmakgomo Doris Ngcobo, 42.”
It is alleged that in July 2024, the complainant, a South African woman whose identity is withheld to protect her, met an individual named "Troy" on dating site Badoo.
“After engaging in conversations, the suspect persuaded the complainant to continue their dialogue via WhatsApp,” said Ramovha.
“A few days later, they agreed to meet in person. He invited the complainant to an address in Sandton where he introduced her to a woman claiming to be his aunt, a traditional healer.”
The "aunt" convinced the unsuspecting woman that she had bad luck and need a cleansing ritual, to wash away the misfortune.
“During the ritual, the complainant was deceived into believing her ancestors were advising her to venture into business. Following the ritual, the victim was convinced to apply for a loan, purportedly to invest in a business blessed by her ancestors,” said Ramovha.
The woman withdrew R20,000 and transferred R233,000 to an account, in order to receive her ‘blessings’.
Subsequently, the Hawks said the woman was told to apply for another cash loan before she was mysteriously robbed of the money while she was on her way to deliver the money to the scammers.
Realising that she had been scammed, the complainant reported the incident at the Sandton police station.
The case was assigned to the Hawks for an investigation that resulted in the recent arrests, following a raid at a house in Roodepoort, Johannesburg.
The Hawks said officers pounced on the scammers who were in the process of scamming yet another woman.
IOL’s exclusive investigations have previously exposed the “voices of ancestors” as part of well choreographed, Hollywood-winning performances of fake miracles, voices being heard from phony ancestors, leaving the unsuspecting victim paralysed in fear, shock, awe, disbelief and confusion.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
IOL