A 46-year-old man appeared briefly before the Kimberley Specialised Commercial Crimes Court recently on charges of fraud/theft and money laundering for an “elaborate scheme” involving the alleged theft of more than R1.9 million.
JOSEPH Christopher Marneweck, 46, appeared briefly before the Kimberley Specialised Commercial Crimes Court recently on charges of fraud, theft and money laundering. The case involves allegations of theft exceeding R1.9 million.
According to Hawks Northern Cape spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Tebogo Thebe, Marneweck was arrested on August 13 by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team. The arrest followed accusations that Marneweck had orchestrated a sophisticated scheme to siphon funds from various government entities and private companies.
The alleged fraudulent activities date back to May 2013.
“It is alleged that in May 2013, the accused [Marneweck] committed theft/fraud when he made an online investment application through a known investment company … Marneweck submitted all the necessary documents, including his bank details, and his modus operandi was to give the investment company the banking details of other government entities for deduction purposes,” said Thebe.
“He would then issue an instruction for a huge once-off deduction to be effected on the institution’s bank account, followed by a monthly deduction of small amounts to be deducted from his own account. A short while after investment, the accused would then make an online request for the withdrawal of his investment funds to be deposited into his personal account. He ran an elaborate scheme of siphoning money from various government entities and other reputable private companies with the belief that the fraud would only be picked up at a later stage, during the auditing stage.”
Thebe said the court remanded the case to August 19, 2024, to allow Marneweck time to secure legal representation. He remains in custody pending further proceedings.
