Nigerian posing as white man allegedly scams South African of N247m

A Nigerian man, Gabriel Okori, is expected to appear before a South African Magistrate’s Court in Pretoria on charges of fraud and theft after allegedly posing as a white man online to defraud a South African woman of R3 million (about N247,376,070 as of 12.30pm on January 16, 2025).

Okori, 39, was arrested in Cape Town in October 2024 by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, with support from the City of Cape Town law enforcement and a private security company. He was later released on R5,000 bail pending trial.

Okori assumed the identity of a white man named “Mark Hermanus” on Facebook to lure his victim, according to Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Thatohatsi Mavimbela.

The woman, whose identity has been withheld for her protection, was led to believe she was in a romantic relationship with Hermanus after the two began chatting on WhatsApp.

“The complainant in the matter alleges that she met what she thought was a white male on Facebook by the name of Mark Hermanus. The two exchanged cellphone numbers and began chatting on instant messaging (WhatsApp),” said Mavimbela.

“While the pair were getting to know each other, ‘Mark Hermanus’ informed the complainant that his son was sick and asked the complainant to lend him money for his son’s medical bills.”

The Hawks said the woman kept giving “Mark Hermanus” money, and the bill escalated to over R3 million. The man promised that he would pay her back once he had paid all his son’s medical bills. However, he never paid back the money.

“The matter was reported to the Hawks’ serious commercial crime investigation (unit), which led to the arrest of the suspect, who was traced and identified as Gabriel Okori, a Nigerian national in Cape Town on October 3,” said Mavimbela.

Okori made his first appearance before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Monday last week and a second court appearance on Monday this week.