Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve, Victoria Falls Reporter
A SMOOTH-TALKING Hwange man who made a career out of chasing imaginary US$100 notes has been slapped with a 35-month jail term after duping several Victoria Falls residents in a daring fake-change hustle.
James Phiri (40) from P3 Lwendulu Village thought he had cracked the code to easy money — walk into a shop, flash a story about a “US$100 note in the car,” grab the change, and vanish. But the scam finally ran out of road when angry residents cornered him during his fourth attempt at Mkhosana Shopping Centre.
Phiri appeared before Victoria Falls magistrate Linda Dzvene facing four counts of fraud. He was sentenced to 40 months in prison, with five months suspended on condition of good behaviour.
According to prosecutor Daphine Ntini, Phiri targeted mostly female vendors and shop attendants between September and October 2025, using the same silver-tongued script each time.
“In one incident, he walked into Calvary Collection, picked scissors worth US$20, and claimed his US$100 note was with a taxi driver outside. The shopkeeper handed him US$80 change — and he disappeared,” said Ntini.
A day earlier, Phiri had charmed a Victoria Falls Pharmacy worker into giving him US$80 “change for court fees,” pointing to a parked car as proof he’d return. Spoiler alert — he didn’t.
At Comesa Market, he pulled the same stunt on a shoe vendor, this time walking away with US$75. And at Soppers Shop, he bought shoes worth US$5, claimed his “note” was in the car, and pocketed US$95 in change before pulling another vanishing act.
By the time his luck ran out, Phiri had scammed US$330 — none of which was recovered.
Magistrate Dzvene described him as a “serial trickster” whose deceit corroded community trust. “Such behaviour must be punished to protect honest citizens,” she said, sending him straight to jail.
