NEWS & ANALYSIS

Telkom CFO cloned by CIPC fraudsters

Jacques Schindehutte one of over eighty individuals and firms targeted by criminal syndicates

Criminal syndicates are continuing use the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) - formerly known as CIPRO - to defraud individuals and companies. The CIPC has introduced controls which seem to have minimised company hijackings for the time being. However, the "cloning" of individuals through the CIPC continues unabated and the cloning of companies remains a problem.

A Politicsweb investigation was able to uncover eighty-two examples of suspiciously named companies and CCs established over the past two and a half years (see list below). Most, if not all of these, were set up with the intention of defrauding the named individuals and companies. Among the recent targets are Jacques Schindehutte, Telkom's Chief Financial Officer, and Tiger Brands.

The individuals and companies affected - who are completely innocent parties - are usually unaware that companies or CCs have been registered which seek to replicate their names.

Individual cloning fraud usually works as follows, to give a hypothetical example: A patient makes out a cheque to Dr Nigel Dieb and sends it through the post. The criminal syndicate intercepts the cheque at the post office and then registers a company called "Dr Nigel Dieb Trading" or simply "Dr Nigel Dieb". The director of the new company then opens a bank account in the name of the company, deposits the cheque and, once it has cleared, withdraws the money.

As with company cloning and company hijacking the objective is to set up a bank account with the same name as the individual or institution being targeted or a similar one. Unlike with company cloning the name of the new company or CC set up to clone an individual will (not necessarily) clash with one already in the system.

The ability of criminal syndicates to register numerous companies and CCs in the names of individuals - over the past two years - points to a lack of a proactive anti-fraud capacity at the CIPC.

These frauds should not be difficult to pick up. Companies which are set up in a person's name, but where the sole director is someone else, should be immediately red flagged. For instance the company "Jacques Schindehutte Investment" was registered on February 17 2012 with its sole director listed as one "Thembani Moyo". Moyo is also listed as a director of a company named "Mr P Arnott-Job".

The list below suggests that criminal syndicates are learning how to work around controls on company cloning. "AJoishual Dooras Construction" is an obvious attempt to set up a company with a similar, albeit not identical, name to the furniture company Joshua Doore.

The director of this company is one "Itumeleng William Tladi" who also happens to be the sole director of "Tiger Brands Installations" registered on February 2 2012. The latter is an interesting case as the name contains a direct copy of "Tiger Brands" an existing company and registered trademark.

A large number of the individuals on the list below are either doctors or senior local employees of foreign companies. A number of law firms have also been targeted.

The CIPC had not responded to a request for comment by the time of publication.

 

COMPANY/CC NAME

NUMBER

TARGET

1

MR P ARNOTT-JOB

K2012/031191/07

Individual

2

EUGENE SCOTT TRADING

K2012/013520/07

Individual

3

MR D FIELDEN TRADING

K2012/013528/07

Individual

4

JOHN TREAT TRADING

K2012/018308/07

Individual

5

JANET ROSS INVESTMENT

K2012/014182/07

Individual

6

MR WARWICK MORLEY -JEPSON TRADING

K2012/009680/07

Individual

7

MRS VENKETRAJU TRADING

K2012/000579/07

Individual

8

MR STEVEN TZONEV

K2012/012692/07

Individual

9

D M K I

K2012/031623/07

DM Kisch

10

ANDREW CHARLES EVANS

K2012/025899/07

Individual

11

BIRD LIFES SOUTH AFRICAN TRADING

K2012/013524/07

Bird Life South Africa

12

K E SMITH

K2012/027153/07

Individual

13

JACQUES SCHINDEHUTTE INVESTMENT

2012/031013/07

Individual

14

JOAN WOLPE

2012/053542/07

Individual

15

TIGER BRANDS INSTALLATIONS

K2012/018676/07

Tiger Brands

16

AJOISHUAL DOORAS CONSTRUCTION

K2012/018674/07

Joshua Doores

17

MR T PARBHOO

2012/053546/07

Individual

18

JOHANNES NIEKERK TRADING

2011/064491/23

Individual

19

BHANA M S

K2012/021265/07

Individual

20

SAMUELE CLEMINSONER PROPERTIES

2011/064629/23

Individual

21

DRS HAAGENSEN LURIE TRADING

2011/064495/23

Individual

22

WAYNE DRIER TRADING

2011/064465/23

Individual

23

MISS C DE VILLIERS TRADING

2011/041722/23

Individual

24

MRS G WAKEMAN TRADING

2011/041716/23

Individual

25

JAMES MCMULLAN TRADING

2011/032050/23

Individual

26

MR HUGO JUAN HOLL INVESTMENTS

2011/032048/23

Individual

27

MR T WRIGHT TRADING

2011/029947/23

Individual

28

L B GARDENS PVT HOSPITAL EQUIPMENT INSTALLATIONS

2011/005040/23

Life Bedford Gardens Hospital

29

L B G H INSTALLATIONS

2011/017664/23

Life Bedford Gardens Hospital?

30

BOW GILFI INVESTMENTS

2011/044249/23

Bowman Gilfillan

31

MR J NIE INVESTMENTS

2011/029949/23

Individual

32

ELZETTE VENTER TRADING

2011/028644/23

Individual

33

MR G DAVIS TRADING

2011/028643/23

Individual

34

MARK DEIST INVESTMENT

2010/060535/23

Individual

35

ANTHONY PEEPALL INVESTMENTS

2010/060536/23

Individual

36

NEAL SUNDSTROM TRADING

2011/021990/23

Individual

37

E N SONNENBERGS TRADING

2011/021987/23

Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs

38

MR JEREMY R ROBERTON FOX INVESTMENTS

2011/022444/23

Individual

39

SAMUEL CLEMINSON TRADING

2011/024832/23

Individual

40

AEROXS TRADING

2011/009210/23

AFROX?

41

NATASHA BENNETT INVESTMENTS

2011/009209/23

Individual

42

VANGERUNDERBEEK MARIA INVESTMENTS

2011/009153/23

Individual

43

TIMOTHY JOHNSON TRADING

2011/005044/23

Individual

44

RICHARD PHILIP MALLABONE TRADING

2011/005037/23

Individual

45

J O OPOLOT HERBALIST

2011/005041/23

Individual

46

LIU JIEXUN TRADING

2011/044211/23

Individual

47

PHAMOTSE LETELE TRADING

2011/044247/23

Individual

48

ROSEMARY A DEAN TRADING

2011/005034/23

Individual

49

THE HERBALIST MEDFEM CLINIC

2011/005048/23

Medfem Clinic?

50

STELIO FRASCO TRADING

2011/005843/23

Individual

51

HOLEMANS DIANE FLAT 29 MAINTENANCE

2011/009211/23

Individual

52

AFRAX HOME CARE

2011/057379/23

AFROX?

53

ROSEMARY KEBITSANG TRADING

2011/068579/23

Individual

54

R MARTIN TRADING AND PROJECTS

2010/113065/23

Individual

55

NICK EVANS TRADING

2010/101166/23

Individual

56

M KUENAST INVESTMENT AND PROJECTS

2010/118679/23

Individual

57

MRS SD INVESTMENT

2010/101175/23

Individual

58

SILVIA VALERI TRADING

2010/101425/23

Individual

59

MRS ELIZABETH ANDERSON ELLIS INVESTMENT

2010/101424/23

Individual

60

STEPHEN PETERSEN TRADING

2010/101433/23

Individual

61

CHIAIE GABRIELLA TRADING

2010/101426/23

Individual

62

MR LORNE RUPERT INVESTMENT

2010/086627/23

Individual

63

NESBITT KENNETH INVESTMENT

2010/112385/23

Individual

64

DUNCAN PERUCH TRADING

2010/112386/23

Individual

65

MR JBR WENTZEL INVESTMENT AND PROJECTS

2010/083906/23

Individual

66

MR JACKA LINK SAUNDERS TRADING

2010/083909/23

Individual

67

PAUL BRUMMER TRADING

2010/078898/23

Individual

68

JAKOBSEN SVEND-ERIK INVESTMENT

2010/078896/23

Individual

69

JO-ANN RICHARDS HERBALIST

2010/101177/23

Individual

70

MRS B ATHENELLIS INVESTMENT

2010/060538/23

Individual

71

S DAWN HANSEN INVESTMENTS

2010/039874/23

Individual

72

RODWELL ZVARAYI CONSTRUCTION

2010/039875/23

Individual

73

PG BREEDT TRADING ENTERPRISE

2010/039205/23

Individual

74

JULIEN RECHARD TRADING AND PROJECTS

2010/037304/23

Individual

75

SUPIAN BIN MD NOR INVESTMENT

2010/035739/23

Individual

76

MR J L SAUNDERS TRADING

2010/035738/23

Individual

77

IAN HOOPER TRADING

2010/034321/23

Individual

78

MRS S DESTOMBES INVESTMENT

2010/034291/23

Individual

79

MARIANNE KUEHNAST INVESTMENT

2010/028679/23

Individual

80

MUHAMMAD Z BUTT TRADING

2010/018036/23

Individual

81

QUAADREM TRADING

2010/101178/23

Quadrem

82

JULIAN BENJAMIN ROBIN WENTZEL INVESTMENTS

2009/099821/23

Individual

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