I was asked by my mate if I would post this as a warning.About a year a go a conman walked into our lives,My mate has a small farm outside P.A.and he decided to convert some of the outbuildings into a guest /game lodge,over December a Indian guy his wife ,son and daughters booked in for a week ,payed cash in advance,stayed on for a extra 2 weeks also paying cash,he and my mate became good friends,this guy took him out on fishing charters etc,anyway this guy,called himself Brandon,said he would like to get involved in the lodge because he had shares in MSC shipping and had American clients who would pay big bucks to stay on the farm,anyway all was agreed that Brandon would buy the building material to build more rooms and a restuarant,I was called in to help with building ,plumbing etc,things were flying along ,gravel roads were laid,restuarant equipment bought,horses paid for in cash by Brandon.
All the while Brandon was pushing us as he said he had clients from Hyundai arriving,he was always on the phone talking to these clients,he even showed us the ships and some of the cargo he transported.on one occasion he sent his wife and my mates wife to P.E. airport to collect these so called clients,while they were on their way he called them to say the clients had hired a car and were going to do a tour before coming to the lodge,we accepted this and carried on.
In the meantime Brandon moved into a massive house on the marina which he said he bought for cash,he also showed us a big boat he said he had paid a deposit on( R1million rand boat).
On one occasion he asked my mates wife to book a ticket to Joburg,gave her his I.D,of which she made a copy ,later we found out some of the numbers had been changed around.He always walked around with two pistols as he claimed people were always trying to kidnap him as he was so wealthy,always had about R20 000.00 cash on him.To cut a long story short the American clients never materialised,all sorts of explanations were given by Brandon.One Thursday he went to town,we ordered building materials and was told they cant supply because the account had not been paid,Brandon promised us that morning that he had paid,many frantic phone calls later we could not raise Brandon,at this stage my doubts started setting in,anyway next morning my mate and another builder went to town ,gained access to the house with the help of security and you guessed it ,gone,clothes and fishing tackle gone,food left in the fridge,and a few christmas present which obviously could not fit in the Merc he told us was his wifes.
What is baffling to us is he never conned my mate out of any money,Brandon had the building supplier account in his name and other things he paid cash for.
The building supplier is still busy with court action against my mate,but his laywer is not too concerned as the account was in Brandons name,my mate has paid a bit towards one of the brickmakers and a few others,he is just that kind of person.My mates wife started a search for this guy and traced his brother to Eshowe in Natal(if it is the same guy),the police say they cant make a case as he did nothing illegal except leave a big building material account,His name he used was Brandon Ngayo,the liscence plates could not be traced .My mate and I still sit and discuss his motives, around the braai ,we cant figure out his scam,he took nothing he left a half built lodge behind,albeit not completely paid for,so if you are approached by a middle aged Indian guy and his so called family,be careful.When he left he told the security at the marina gate he was going to Cape Town on holiday,at first we suspected he had gone to cape Town and had a accident or something,but after a year me thinks he has gone to greener pastures.He claims he is part owner in MSC shipping and some road transport company(cant remember which one),he even shows you photos of ships and manifestos of cargo.
The boat builder says they know nothing of selling this guy a boat,the estate agent says he rented the house,paid in advance.So if this guy sounds familiar to any one give us a call,although what he did was not so bad,we would like to ask him a few questions if you know what I mean,soon after it happened my mates wife posted this story on face book and she realised they had no photos of them even though she was taking pictures of the building operations all the time,he seemed to avoid the camera.
Also one of the stories he was spinning was that his one daughter was going to marry the Italian owner of MSC ,she showed us photos of the venue ,dresses etc,one night when we all braaied at his house on the marina,maybe the whole family is in on the scam ,whatever it is.The scam went so far as to Brandon ordering the best whiskey,wine,steaks etc for these so called Hyundai clients ,hunting trips were arranged for them.So there you go,if this guy and his modus operandi sound familiar send him our way we would like to use him as slide bait,he was /is a very keen fisherman,he hired a charter boat twice a week,and took my mate a and his son out with him.
All the while Brandon was pushing us as he said he had clients from Hyundai arriving,he was always on the phone talking to these clients,he even showed us the ships and some of the cargo he transported.on one occasion he sent his wife and my mates wife to P.E. airport to collect these so called clients,while they were on their way he called them to say the clients had hired a car and were going to do a tour before coming to the lodge,we accepted this and carried on.
In the meantime Brandon moved into a massive house on the marina which he said he bought for cash,he also showed us a big boat he said he had paid a deposit on( R1million rand boat).
On one occasion he asked my mates wife to book a ticket to Joburg,gave her his I.D,of which she made a copy ,later we found out some of the numbers had been changed around.He always walked around with two pistols as he claimed people were always trying to kidnap him as he was so wealthy,always had about R20 000.00 cash on him.To cut a long story short the American clients never materialised,all sorts of explanations were given by Brandon.One Thursday he went to town,we ordered building materials and was told they cant supply because the account had not been paid,Brandon promised us that morning that he had paid,many frantic phone calls later we could not raise Brandon,at this stage my doubts started setting in,anyway next morning my mate and another builder went to town ,gained access to the house with the help of security and you guessed it ,gone,clothes and fishing tackle gone,food left in the fridge,and a few christmas present which obviously could not fit in the Merc he told us was his wifes.
What is baffling to us is he never conned my mate out of any money,Brandon had the building supplier account in his name and other things he paid cash for.
The building supplier is still busy with court action against my mate,but his laywer is not too concerned as the account was in Brandons name,my mate has paid a bit towards one of the brickmakers and a few others,he is just that kind of person.My mates wife started a search for this guy and traced his brother to Eshowe in Natal(if it is the same guy),the police say they cant make a case as he did nothing illegal except leave a big building material account,His name he used was Brandon Ngayo,the liscence plates could not be traced .My mate and I still sit and discuss his motives, around the braai ,we cant figure out his scam,he took nothing he left a half built lodge behind,albeit not completely paid for,so if you are approached by a middle aged Indian guy and his so called family,be careful.When he left he told the security at the marina gate he was going to Cape Town on holiday,at first we suspected he had gone to cape Town and had a accident or something,but after a year me thinks he has gone to greener pastures.He claims he is part owner in MSC shipping and some road transport company(cant remember which one),he even shows you photos of ships and manifestos of cargo.
The boat builder says they know nothing of selling this guy a boat,the estate agent says he rented the house,paid in advance.So if this guy sounds familiar to any one give us a call,although what he did was not so bad,we would like to ask him a few questions if you know what I mean,soon after it happened my mates wife posted this story on face book and she realised they had no photos of them even though she was taking pictures of the building operations all the time,he seemed to avoid the camera.
Also one of the stories he was spinning was that his one daughter was going to marry the Italian owner of MSC ,she showed us photos of the venue ,dresses etc,one night when we all braaied at his house on the marina,maybe the whole family is in on the scam ,whatever it is.The scam went so far as to Brandon ordering the best whiskey,wine,steaks etc for these so called Hyundai clients ,hunting trips were arranged for them.So there you go,if this guy and his modus operandi sound familiar send him our way we would like to use him as slide bait,he was /is a very keen fisherman,he hired a charter boat twice a week,and took my mate a and his son out with him.
