Wonder Mgude, an alleged serial bank card scammer, faces a lengthy period behind bars, if found guilty for the 100+ fraud charges he faces.
Western Cape police spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha revealed in a statement that the 35-year-old was arrested on Wednesday, after two years on the run from authorities.
Card scammer arrested: Police reveal his spree of card fraud
Mgude faces 118 counts of fraud related to his alleged card fraud scams. The State has, in the last three or so years, gathered enough evidence to confidently pile up the charges against the 35-year-old Capetonian.
He first popped up on the radar of authorities in October 2017 when he was arrested for trying to fill a motorist’s vehicle with fuel using a counterfeit petrol card, in exchange for cash.
“A petrol attendant raised the alarm after he noticed that the card was in fact fake,” Capt. Ramovha said.
Mgude tried to ditch his vehicle and escape on foot but he was arrested and charged with fraud. Inside his car, police found “18 counterfeit bank cards, papers containing numerous card numbers, a card reader writer/encoding machine as well as a laptop.”
His first court appearance was at the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court, where he was granted bail. Fear of imprisonment didn’t affect the 35-year-old, since as soon as he was released, he resumed his reign of terror at ATMs.
“Whilst he was out on bail he was arrested again at BP Rondebosch Motors on 25 October 2017 for the same modus operandi. Two counterfeit bank cards were found in his possession,” Ramovha added.
Mgude was arrested once again and his appearance at the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court resulted in him being let out on bail AGAIN.
Low and behold, the 35-year-old returned to his old ways shortly after his release. His court date for the two charges that — at the time were merged into a single court trial — was set for 31 January 2019 and when the day came, Mgude was a no-show.
He missed a few more reschedulings and in March 2019, a warrant of arrest was issued for the 35-year-old.
It’s believed in the years he has evaded police, Mgude was involved in card scams in parts of Cape Town.
“Mgude is to face no less than 118 charges relating to conspiracy to commit fraud and forgery to the tune of over R100 000-00 in contravention of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act,” Ramovha concluded.
If found guilty, the serial card scammer faces the possibility of life in prison.