COPS have arrested a man for fraud after he employed a group of people who went to various shops and companies misrepresenting themselves as workers from the Department of Health.
According to police spokesman Wesley Twigg, the “employees” were charging the shops owners to have their shops sanitized and get compliance certificates.
Twigg said: “Provincial Commercial Crime detectives arrested an adult male for fraud after he employed a group of people misrepresenting themselves as Department of Health employees and charging business owners to have their shops sanitized and issued with compliance certificates.
“The company was, however, not registered with the Western Cape Health Department. The police detectives confiscated a cellphone and documentation as part of the investigation. Once charged, the suspect will appear in the Bellville Magistrates court.
In November last year, the City of Cape Town encountered similar challenges whereby fraudsters will visit shops and food outlets claiming they are from the city.
Community Services and Health, Councillor Patricia van der Ross, said the scammers pretending to be health officials attempted to force businesses to renew their Health Certification. They would lie to business owners that a Certificate of Acceptability (COA) issued to a business preparing food expires every two years.
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Van der Ross said the scammers claimed to be working for the Western Cape Provincial Health Department Head Office, threatening to close premises down and demand free meals from restaurants.
“Criminals are finding more inventive ways to scam people out of their money and scoring free meals as in this case. Not only is this fraudulent and illegal behaviour, but many restaurants are still recovering from lockdown and can ill afford to be scammed in this manner,’ added Van de Ross.
