Online Reporter
Zvikomborero Parafini
A local businessman Steven John Bass was yesterday convicted of fraud involving US$200 000.
Bass was convicted after a full trial by Harare regional magistrate Clever Tsikwa, who remanded him to Monday for sentencing.
The complainant is Nicola Ruth Dickinson.
The State represented by Ephraim Zinyandu heard that on December 2021, Bass approached Dickinson with a business proposal of importing goods from South Africa to Zimbabwe for resale to Pick n Pay Supermarkets Zimbabwe.
Bass misrepresented that he had orders and was not able to supply on his own because he did not have enough capital.
The two agreed that Dickinson was to invest US$200 000 while Bass was to invest US$300 000 to start a company.
Bass went on to tell Dickinson that he was going to register the company styled Wireline Investment and was also going to open an FBC bank account where the investment money was to be deposited and also for business transactions.
After the registration of the company and opening of the corporate account, Bass received US$200 000 from Dickinson and the money was to be deposited into the bank account.
When Dickinson made a follow up on whether Bass had deposited her money and also on whether he had deposited his part of the deal, he became evasive.
This prompted Dickinson to approach the bank where she was advised that there no business account or money that was deposited in the bank.
She then filed a complaint with the police but nothing was recovered.
