Fake estate agent up for US$180 000 fraud

A 57-year-old Bulawayo man who misrepresented himself as an estate agent and posed as the owner of property worth US$180 000 using a forged document of sale, has been arraigned before the courts on charges of fraud.

Bigboy Leovancey Ncube of Queens Park suburb was convicted on charges of fraud by Bulawayo regional magistrate, Ms Benhilda Chiwundura and is set to be sentenced today.

According to the State, Ncube committed the offence during the month of November 2022.
Prosecuting, Ms Portia Mashashu, said Ncube forged an agreement of sale purporting that he had purchased the house from the complainant.

“Ncube used a forged agreement of sale to obtain a default judgment for transfer of ownership of property. He went on to misrepresent to the Estate Agents Council of Zimbabwe that he was the owner of the property and wanted assistance in finding a buyer for the property,” she told the court.

“The misrepresentation resulted in the property being advertised on Facebook for sale.”
Ms Mashashu said the victim then saw an advertisement on Facebook to the effect that his house was for sale.

“As the owner of the property being advertised, the victim made a follow up to establish the circumstances surrounding the sale since he had not put the property up for sale,” she said.

“The victim then discovered that the signature on the document was forged before making a report to the police. He also went on to apply for rescission of the mentioned judgment.”

The court heard that the judgment was ultimately rescinded. On October 2 this year, Ncube proceeded to the victim’s property with prospective buyers in an attempt to sell the property. The victim got information to that effect and rushed to the property and found Ncube there.

“The victim then contacted the police who rushed to the scene leading to the arrest of the accused person. The victim was potentially facing a financial loss of US$$180 000,” Ms Mashashu said.