adminTendai Rupapa Senior Court Reporter
The director of Aspire Soccer Academy of Norton, Vengai Tinarwo, has been slapped with a 24-month sentence after being found guilty by a Harare court of fraud.
Tinarwo (40) of No. K937 Norton pleaded guilty when he appeared before magistrate Nomsa Sabarauta yesterday charged with 11 counts of fraud and was subsequently found guilty as pleaded.
Of the 24 months, 12 were suspended on condition of restitution before September 5, eight months were suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour and the remaining four months were set aside on condition that he performs 210 hours of community service at Norton Police Station.
State prosecutor, Shambadzeni Fungura, told the court that sometime in May this year Tinarwo hatched a plan to dupe young soccer players affiliated to his academy by informing them that he had managed to get sponsorship to travel to Gothenburg, Sweden, to play in this year’s Gothia World Youth Cup tournament.
He advised the complainants that for them to participate in this tournament, which started on Monday and will end on Saturday this week, they needed to have a passport and money to cover the expenses for the visas and medical certificates which was to be entrusted to him
From June 5 throughout to June 30, Tinarwo “harvested” over US$2 352 off the unsuspecting young soccer players who were unaware that they were being taken for a ride.
Tinarwo even approached several parents, enticing them to invest in the trip as it stood to benefit the future of their children.
One such victim George Gwenzi deposited US$206 in Tinarwo’s personal Kingdom Bank account.
Other victims of the scam included Gladys Chinenzwa, who deposited US$200 for her son Thomas Danda, Pride Muvirimi, who was assured that he could be guaranteed his place in the team for Sweden, deposited US$190 while Charles Maveka, Orleans Bonjesi and Kudzanai Mofala, among others, also deposited sizeable amounts ranging from US$190 to US$206 under the impression that they were going to Sweden.
On the day the players were supposed to depart for Sweden, they got the shock of their lives when they realised it had all been a pre-meditated hoax.
The enraged parents and players alerted the authorities who managed to track down Tinarwo at the Eastlea Academy at Churchill High School where he was arrested last Saturday.
Police managed to recover the bulk of the passports from Tinarwo, but were unable to recover any of the money.
Online Reporter