A 56-year-old man from Eastern Cape, Zamile Nongogo, has been sentenced to six years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended, for orchestrating a vehicle fraud scheme that defrauded financial institutions of over R600,000. The sentencing took place at the East London Commercial Crimes Court on Monday.
Nongogo, arrested in October 2019 alongside his accomplice Thobani Mabizela by the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (the Hawks), masterminded the scam between January 2018 and February 2019. The scheme involved falsifying pay slips and other documents to help undeserving vehicle finance applicants secure loans they could not repay.
According to Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana, the fraudsters submitted fake supporting documents to a financial institution in East London. They created false employer contacts to verify these documents during telephonic checks, enabling the purchase of vehicles worth over R600,000.
After the vehicles were delivered to the applicants, payments ceased, leading banks to uncover discrepancies and report the case to the Hawks. Following a thorough investigation, Nongogo and Mabizela were arrested. Nongogo’s conviction resulted in a six-year prison sentence suspended for five years, conditional on no further fraud convictions. Despite the suspension, Nongogo remains in custody facing unrelated charges.
The court also declared Nongogo unfit to possess a firearm, underscoring the gravity of his offenses. Mabizela was convicted in April 2025, with sentencing scheduled for June 30, 2025.
This case highlights ongoing challenges in combating vehicle finance fraud and law enforcement’s efforts to protect financial institutions in South Africa.
