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By Mervyn Naidoo 
7h ago
Durban – A Durban widow believed that, with the help of a real estate agent from a reputable agency, she would get her dream home on a luxury private estate close to family and perfect for her arthritis condition.
But the 72-year-old Pathmavathi Moodley’s dream was shattered and he was financially homeless.
That’s because Martha O’Reilly, the real estate agent who was going to make the deal a reality, allegedly helped herself with R2.1 million from the woman’s bank account without providing a home.
O’Reilly, who was an agent for Tyson Properties when he had Moodley salivating over an R3m unit on the Kindlewood Estate in Mount Edgecombe, north of Durban, appeared in Durban Magistrates Court this week. She has been charged with 57 counts of fraud, all related to the R2 091 214 that she allegedly stole from Moodley.
The pensioner could only pay half the unit’s sales price and when the deal fell through, O’Reilly allegedly promised to get something as good and convinced Moodley to put money into an attorney’s trust account for that purpose.
Moodley trusted O’Reilly and made transfers to ATMs 10 times, in O’Reilly’s presence. But when she suspected O’Reilly was cheating on her, she asked the police to investigate.
Their investigations have since revealed that the attorney’s so-called trust account belonged to O’Reilly, and that not 10, but 57 cash transfers ranging from R148,000 to R2 500 were received from Moodley’s bank account between July 2016. and April 2017.
Moodley believes that O’Reilly hacked into his account and made transfers over the Internet on other occasions.
O’Reilly has already been convicted of fraud in a separate matter and was recently sentenced.
In that matter, it turned out that she used the same modus operandi to enrich herself with money that belonged to clients, while in Gauteng.
For those offenses, which comprised three counts of fraud related to theft of more than R300,000, he received a five-year prison sentence.
He had to submit a request for bail when he appeared before Magistrate Vanitha Armu on Wednesday.
Although O’Reilly is currently incarcerated in a Johannesburg prison, the state had planned to oppose bail, should O’Reilly’s prison time be reduced, and the Moodley affair was still ongoing at the time of your release. But O’Reilly dropped his application for bail.
Moodley met O’Reilly in 2016 after responding to a real estate magazine ad.
“I wanted to shop in the Mount Edgecombe area and needed an agent to show me around and Marti (O’Reilly) responded.”
Moodley said the Kindlewood unit was ideal because it was “stepless,” within walking distance of his sister’s house, and there were nearby temples. But all he could afford was R1.5m.
“Somehow, Martí found out that I had two daughters who worked abroad and he suggested that I ask them for help.”
Moodley refused to do so because he always maintained his independence. “My refusal to accept the Kindlewood deal frustrated Marti, but she persisted. She brought me an offer to buy the property and asked me to sign it. When I wanted to read the document, he said no and explained that it was only a document to tell the owner that he was interested ”.
Moodley signed the document.
By then, Moodley had already sold its Reservoir Hills property for more than R1.2m.
O’Reilly allegedly convinced Moodley to deposit the proceeds into Tyson’s trust account, and when a house became available, it could be used.
Moodley complied, but did not know that O’Reilly had committed the money to the Kindlewood deal, thinking her daughters would help her and the deal would be complete.
When it failed, R989,000 was returned to Moodley, not before R140,000 had been deducted for commission charges.
Moodley claimed that O’Reilly convinced her to transfer the R989,000 to her personal account and not to an investment account.
Once the money reached Moodley’s bank account, O’Reilly allegedly asked him to transfer money to an attorney’s trust account for the purchase of property, which police later found to be the Moodley’s personal bank account. real estate agent.
She alleged that O’Reilly also made her collect investment policies that her husband had bequeathed to her and placed them in her bank account.
Moodley recalls making 10 ATM transfers believing it was for the purchase of a new home.
On one occasion, Moodley said that he borrowed R150,000 from a family member because O’Reilly said a home he had insured needed to be transferred.
With no sign of a house after all the money spent, Moodley pressured O’Reilly to respond, but she allegedly became evasive, elusive, and eventually realized she had been scammed.
“I always had the confidence that Martí was getting me a house. Even when my sister and brother-in-law were skeptical, I insisted that Marti was authentic because I thought she was dealing with Tyson.
“When I realized that my money had been stolen, I was very disappointed. I can’t trust anyone now. “
Moodley remembers going Christmas shopping with O’Reilly in 2016.
“I couldn’t afford a fruitcake due to my investments for a house, but Marti bought expensive gifts for her family. Little did I realize that I was doing it using my money. “
Her brother-in-law, Sagie Moodley, said they were surprised because she dealt with a real estate agent. “You are not buying a property from your neighbor but from an agency. All the controls were supposed to be there. Money was shamelessly taken from an elderly woman who now cannot afford the apartment she previously rented. “
Heather Sudding, Administrator of Tyson Properties, said: “It is with deep regret that we were informed of the alleged fraudulent acts of Marti O’Reilly, when it was too late to intervene as she had left the company.”
Brigadier General Jay Naicker, spokesperson for SAPS KZN said: “It is disheartening to see that there are people who are scamming unsuspecting citizens with their hard-earned money. We once again appeal to people to be careful when investing their money or when making large purchases such as houses. It’s important to do your homework before you part with the money. “
Sunday grandstand
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