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By Mervyn Naidoo 
6h ago
Durban – A soft-spoken con artist, who fed his taste for the finer things in life with money that ripped people off, was sentenced to 35 years in prison this week.
After pleading guilty to seven counts of fraud, Sugan Naicker, 37, had the temerity to suggest to Durban Regional Court Magistrate Fariedha Mohamed that he offer a fine of R100,000 in exchange for a lesser sentence.
But Mohamed was not moved.
She rejected Naicker’s suggestion and sentenced him to five years in direct prison for each of the seven counts of fraud he committed.
Mohamed questioned how he would raise 100,000 rand considering that he had been awaiting trial for more than 18 months and that his only form of support at present was his elderly mother, who was living on her state pension.
“Where will the money come from?” Mohamed responded to Sanjeev Juglall, Naicker’s legal aid attorney, who said that his client’s family would help raise the 100,000 rand.
“I don’t see any other family in court, only their mother is present each time. He lives on a pension. Why should you be deprived of your pension or your home because of your actions? “asked Mohamed.
Naicker, a Chatsworth resident, had been followed by Petty Officer Runganathan Pillay and his team of SAPS Chatsworth detectives since 2016. Having collaborated with colleagues on the south shore of KZN, Captain Adam Draai tracked down Naicker in Ramsgate and arrested him on the last year.
But before that, he enjoyed the good life; partying, driving flashy cars, hitting casinos and wearing designer clothes. He made much of his ill-gotten profit by posing as a successful cell phone wholesaler or claiming to own a lucrative business that bought and sold salvage cars.
Those who were lured into investing never got the returns Naicker promised, while some victims are repaying loans they had taken to pay their capital outlay.
All of Naicker’s victims lived in Chatsworth.
The first charge relates to how, between November 2014 and March 2015, Naicker led Sheldon Naidoo to believe that he bought cell phones at a discounted price and made a 100% profit on their resale. Naidoo trusted Naicker, especially since his son had gone to school with him. But since then Naidoo has learned a hard lesson from the failed investment of R174 600.
Trishen Reddy fell for the same scam that Naicker sold to Naidoo. To further convince Reddy, Naidoo added that he was the regional sales manager for I-Phone. Reddy invested R67 200 in February 2016.
Naicker told Sugandren Thambiran that he bought and sold repossessed cars to dealers and that the profitability of the profits was 100%. Thambiran invested R64,000.
Runganayagie Naidoo, her breadwinner, underwent a debt review after her failed deals with Naicker. Naicker knew Naidoo well; They attended the same church and she cared for her father when he entered the hospital where he worked.
Naidoo noted that Naicker lived extravagantly and displayed images of her lifestyle at parties, while she “suffered” financially as a single mother.
Naidoo paid R72,000 for a VW Polo in December 2016 after believing Naicker’s argument about repossessed cars and that he was a WesBank employee, but she did not get the car.
Indrin Naidoo invested R80,000 in Naicker’s fantasy car sales business in January 2017, which also hit a dead end.
Similarly, Anderson Naicker invested R10,000 in May 2016 with no dividends either.
After losing her job, Celine Peters paid R86,000 of her severance pay for a Golf GTi Naicker offered in January 2018, but he never kept his promise.
After his sister, a former co-worker, introduced him to Peters, Naicker scolded Peters until she agreed to buy the car. Being scammed traumatized Peters.
For each count, Naicker admitted, through Juglall, that he made false statements to all of his victims, knowing that he would not fulfill the respective promises he made, and agreed that his actions were “illegal and unlawful.”
State prosecutor Kuveshni Pillay reiterated that Naicker had committed serious crimes, that his motive was “greed” and that he “preyed on unsuspecting victims”, which he knew.
Pillay said Naicker was a “con man” and a “soft talker” who only pleaded guilty due to the overwhelming evidence against him.
Magistrate Mohamed said Naicker “did not learn his lesson” despite his two previous convictions (theft and fraud). “People trusted you and you stole from them.”
Mohamed said Naicker was not a candidate for a reduced sentence because he would continue to scam people once released and his offer of 100,000 rand was a “drop in the ocean” for what he owed the victims.
Sunday grandstand
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