Craig Anthony Christopher (42) appeared at Cape Town Magistrate’s Court yesterday on charges of fraud worth R800 000.
Christopher was arrested on 15 March this year at Table Bay Harbour after he used fraudulent cloned bank cards in two separate shops. He allegedly purchased goods at both shops and continued to run several transactions to an estimated value of R800 000.
Christopher first appeared in Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on 18 March 2019 and the matter was postponed for bail application. The case against Christopher was remanded to 25 June for further investigation, whilst he was granted R5000 bail.
In another separate and unrelated matter, the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team has recovered a Porsche Macan Turbo to the value of R 2.4 million after they acted on information. The vehicle was allegedly purchased using false particulars in Sandton, Johannesburg along with three other vehicles on 27 September 2017. Consequently a case was opened and the vehicles were circulated.
The 2017 model Porsche Macan Turbo was recovered on 14 March 2019 after it was booked-in and abandoned at a vehicle service centre in Cape Town. Suspicion was raised when it was discovered at the centre that there were attempts to alter the particulars of the vehicle (VIN number) and the matter was reported to the Hawks for investigation. No arrest has been made at this stage, pending the on-going investigation, whilst the vehicle was taken for further investigation.