Online Reporter
Yeukai Karengezeka
Court Correspondent
A MEMBER of an organised crime syndicate that defrauded Zimbabwean companies by posing as a facilitator of foreign transactions, Allen Thindwa Mzamu, has been jailed for three years for swindling nearly R1 million from his victim.
Presiding magistrate Mr Clever Tsikwa ruled that Mzamu failed to provide a credible explanation when witnesses linked him to the alias Dr Harrington during an identification parade.
Adding to the evidence, Mzamu was found in possession of a fake identity card bearing his photograph but a different name.
The court also noted that Mzamu was unable to produce any evidence of the existence of Dr Richard James Harrington, whose identity he used to open fraudulent bank accounts and carry out his schemes.
He faced two charges of fraud and possession of articles for criminal use.
Initially, Mzamu was sentenced to seven years in prison, but this was reduced to an effective sentence of three years, as two years were suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour after his release and another two years were suspended for restitution.
For the second charge, he was handed a wholly suspended six-month sentence.
State prosecutor Mr Tendai Tapi proved that the victim, Mr Zvataurwa Makoto, director of Sitaz Health Care, was deceived on November 28, 2019.
Mzamu falsely claimed to have transferred R953 925 to JCB Polokwane in South Africa on behalf of Mr Makoto.
Trusting the scheme, Mr Makoto transferred Z$1 363 538,61 into a fraudulent CBZ account registered under the alias Dr Harrington and Associates.
To solidify the illusion, Mzamu arranged for a fraudulent email confirmation from JCB Polokwane to convince Mr Makoto that the funds had been received.
However, after Mr Makoto released the funds, Mzamu quickly reversed the transfer from JCB Polokwane’s Nedbank account.
Mzamu and his accomplices wasted no time, converting the stolen funds into US dollars and transferring them to Devin Sabapwe, Solomon Magodhiyana, Wilfred Takudzwa Kapiya and Tinashe Ngwerume.
Detective Sergeant Innocent Mlilo, the investigating officer, obtained a warrant to search CBZ account number 02124698330010, which was fraudulently registered under the name Dr Richard James Harrington.
The search uncovered fake account-opening documents, forged fingerprints, and bank statements showing the distribution of stolen funds.
Further investigations at the National Fingerprinting Bureau confirmed that the identity details of Dr Harrington were entirely fabricated.
On January 28, 2020, acting on a tip-off, police arrested Mzamu in Harare city centre.
A search of his Audi A4 vehicle yielded incriminating items, including a Hisense cellphone with an Econet line (number 0772262131) registered to Mzamu, and CBZ and CABS ATM cards under the name Dr Richard James Harrington.
They also recovered an expired Malawian passport and a fake Zimbabwean National Identity Card with Mzamu’s photograph but the alias Adam Andrew (NR 63-844715-X-63).
