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Prosper Dembedza
Herald Correspondent
A bogus City of Harare employee has appeared in court on allegations of defrauding an unsuspecting company director of US$92000.
James Bleya (47) was represented by Ms Idah Mateke Maromo.
He was ordered to deposit US$250 bail and was instructed to reside at his given address until the matter is finalised.
Bleya will return to court on January 17 for routine remand pending the finalisation of investigations. The complainant is Mr Matthew Wheeler.
It is alleged that sometime in January 2024, Mr Wheeler wanted to buy land for residential stands and wrote an application for the piece of land addressed to the City of Harare’s Department of Housing and Community Service.
It is alleged that Bleya misrepresented himself to the complainant, claiming that he was employed by the Harare City Council and could facilitate the processing Mr Wheeler’s application.
This prompted Mr Wheeler to engage with him.
According to court documents, Bleya took the complainant’s application letter, and between June 2024 and October 2024, Mr Wheeler paid a total of US$92 000 to the fraud suspect.
It is the State’s case that Bleya provided the complainant with fake City of Harare receipts.
In November 2024, the complainant went to the City of Harare to check the status of his application but failed to locate his file.
Upon making his own inquiries, he discovered that Bleya was not employed by the City of Harare. The total amount defrauded is US$92 000, and nothing has been recovered.
Online Reporter