Ten people accused of applying for US visas under the pretence of belonging to a “choir” have been arrested in Cape Town.
|||Cape Town - A group of 10 people accused of applying for US visas under the pretence of belonging to a “choir” heading to the US on a tour have been arrested following investigations by the US Consulate.
Eight of them have pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud for misrepresenting to the consulate at Westlake that they were part of a choir planning a tour.
The eight admitted they knew they were not members of a choir and wanted to get into the US to make new lives for themselves.
Nine women and a man appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday following their arrest on Tuesday.
They were Samantha Solomons, Vuyelwa Nkontsa, Yvonne Dlamini, Susan Mahapa, Samantha Davies, Khayelihle Sosibo, Nkuthula Dlamini, Nomthandazo Tyatya, Bianca Mazibuko and Rittan Shandu.
Their defence counsel claimed they were victims of “a scam”.
One is from Joburg, one from Pretoria, and five are from Kwazulu-Natal. Solomons is from Grassy Park and Davies is from Muizenberg.
The two Capetonians have not yet pleaded. They were released on R500 bail each, despite the State asking for R5 000 bail “because of the seriousness of the offence.”
They handed in their passports, with Davies handing over both a South African and a British passport.
Their case was postponed to August 23 for further investigation.
In a statement read out on behalf of the eight who pleaded guilty, each admitted: “I was merely going to use it (membership of the choir) as a means to gain entry to the United States to make a life for myself.”
Explaining the case against the 10, senior prosecutor Thervabashnie Naidoo told the court that the group had dealt with a South African man based in the US who was involved in recruiting “choir members” to perform in shows abroad.
The man would submit applications for the visas. In the past few years those who had acquired the visas to tour as choir members “don’t come back”, she said.
The US Consulate became suspicious and began an investigation into the matter.
It was discovered that the US-based South African man had used an agency to collect money from the applicants, and they were then contacted and called to go for interviews at the consulate.
The 10 went for interviews at the consulate at Westlake on Tuesday. They were interviewed individually and were all arrested. They have spent the past three nights in custody in the Wynberg police cells.
The defence attorney, for the eight, argued: “These clients were victims of a scam run by a bigger fish, they were unfortunately in this trap.”
Naidoo said: “I disagree. They knew what the scam was.”
The eight accused remain in custody.
natasha.prince@inl.co.za
Cape Argus