A Mpumalanga woman accused of fraudulently selling houses is due to appear in the Middelburg magistrate's court on Wednesday after she was rearrested earlier this week.

The 46-year-old was nabbed by the Hawks' serious commercial crime investigation team in Boksburg on Monday. She had been on the run since November after failing to appear in court after her initial arrest in Soweto in 2019. A warrant of arrest was issued against her.

Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Capt Dineo Sekgotodi said she is accused of scamming potential buyers by showing them photos of the house on “sale” before requiring a deposit or full payment before taking them for a viewing.

She allegedly sold RDP houses, repossessed houses and private property in the vicinity of Middelburg, Witbank, Secunda and Kriel.

None of these houses were on sale.

“The buyer had to pay the deposit on a house or the selling price into her business account. She [allegedly] defrauded the buyers by not transferring the properties to their names [after the initial payment].”

She also allegedly transferred money to other agents she employed, though none of them, including herself, were registered with the Estate Agency Affairs Board, said Sekgotodi.

Further investigation has linked her to other fraud cases of about R184,000. These are in Orange Farm, Nelspruit, Mashishing (Lydenburg) and Piet Retief, where more than 36 potential witnesses laid complaints against her.

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