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Food For Mzansi

Scam alert: How 3 farmers were conned

by Duncan Masiwa
18th February 2021
in News
Reading Time: 5 mins read
A A
Eddie Prinsloo from the Heuningkrans farm near Smithfield in the Free State. Photo: Twitter/Molatek

Eddie Prinsloo from the Heuningkrans farm near Smithfield in the Free State. Photo: Twitter/Molatek

Calls have been made to ensure vigilance when buying online after at least two farmers were recently scammed. Among the victims are the well-known Merino stud breeder Eddie Prinsloo who was bamboozled in a R4.9 million transaction.

Prinsloo is the owner of the Heuningkrans farm in Smithfield in the Free State. He is known as a land reform champion after giving seven workers title deeds in his Donkerhoek project.

He was scammed after two men, Vitalis Tasara (34) and Tsako Baloyi (40), reached out to him. They allegedly claimed to be from a bank which worked with farmers.

Following an agreement, the elderly farmer delivered 800 sheep to Louis Trichardt in Limpopo. When no money was deposited into his bank account for the delivery he made, Prinsloo grew suspicious.

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He alerted the police after the suspects weren’t available on their phones. The bank also confirmed that they had no dealings with him.

Tasara and Baloyi have since been arrested. With the help of the Wepener police, 561 sheep have since been recovered, says police spokesperson Brigadier Motantsi Makhele. The two suspects will appear in the Smithfield’s magistrates’ court today on charges of fraud and stock theft.

According the latest available crime statistics, stock theft decreases in all provinces except for the Northern Cape. Across the country, more than 26 000 sheep and 14 000 cattle were stolen.

ALSO READ: Cele warns Free State stock thief cops

Poultry scammers

Meanwhile farmers in the poultry industry are also being targeted by opportunists. Hillary Pechana and his wife, Siphesihle Kwetana, were almost scammed out of R52 075.

Siphesihle Kwetana co-owner of Siphe Development and Capacitation Agency runs two farms and she's feeling the impact that covid-19 and the 21-day lockdown on her farmworkers and businesses.
Eastern Cape farmer Siphesihle Kwetana. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

The co-owners of Siphe Development and Capacitation Agency tell Food For Mzansi they recently visited crooks on a “suspicious site”. They were looking to purchase 3 000 hens and 465 roosters to diversify their farming operation.

The alleged scammers said they represented Calvery Poultry Farm in Bloemfontein, a four-hour drive for Pechana and his wife.

Pechana initially made a WhatsApp enquiry asking for a quotation. A “sales representative”, who identified himself as “Mr Larry”, sent the quotation via WhatsApp. Pechana, instead, asked for a more formal quotation to be sent.

He says, “I accepted his quote and told him that I would visit their farm. My wife wasn’t sure that we could trust the guy.”

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When Pechana requested to visit their operation, the alleged scammer was quick to make up an excuse.

“He told me that they had just returned back from two weeks in quarantine and that management insisted no clients visit the farm. The quotation had an address on, so I asked a friend who lived 19 minutes away to go check it out.”

Pechana’s friend could not find the address listed on the quotation. The transaction was then cancelled and Pechana says he never heard from them again.

ALSO READ: Scam artists targeting poultry farmers

‘If it’s too good to be true…’

Christopher Mason, manager: sustainability and operations at the South African Poultry Association (SAPA), pleads with farmers to be cautious. Instead of faling prey to online transactions, he wants them to rather contact the police for a suppliers’ list, or to do a verification check of the supplier.

“If a farmer has been scammed, they should report it to their bank and lay a charge at the police,” he says.

A simple location search on Google Maps can also provide potentially money-saving information. “For example, if one checks a supplier’s address on Google Maps and the farm address is in the middle of a built-up area, logic dictates that it is a scam company.”

Furthermore, websites displaying logos of SAPA and government could be a clear indication of scam sites. “If the deal sounds too good to be true, it usually is,” Mason says.

ALSO READ: Fraudsters target up-and-coming farmers

Tags: Christopher MasonEddie PrinslooHeuningkransHillary Pechanaonline fraudSapascammersSiphe Development and Capacitation AgencySiphesihle KwetanaSouth African Poultry Associationstock theft
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Duncan Masiwa

Duncan Masiwa

DUNCAN MASIWA is a budding journalist with a passion for telling great agricultural stories. He hails from Macassar, close to Somerset West in the Western Cape, where he first started writing for the Helderberg Gazette community newspaper. Besides making a name for himself as a columnist, he is also an avid poet who has shared stages with artists like Mahalia Buchanan, Charisma Hanekam, Jesse Jordan and Motlatsi Mofatse.

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This week's Agri calendar features a wine and food event, an online discussion on biofilms the dairy industry and another on cutting fertiliser costs. There's also a livestock auction to look out for and an online event about soil. Include your event to the calendar by emailing info@foodformzansi.com. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

This week’s agriculture events: 15 to 18 August 2022

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Andile Matukane, founder of Farmers Choice and Devroll Legodi, founder of Devroll Herbs, joined a recent session of Food For Mzansi’s Gather To Grow on twitter o discuss the cultivation of spring onions in Mzansi. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

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With 12 global awards in the first three years of its existence, Food For Mzansi is much more than an agriculture publication. It is a movement, unashamedly saluting the unsung heroes of South African agriculture. We believe in the power of agriculture to promote nation building and social cohesion by telling stories that are often overlooked by broader society.

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This week’s agriculture events: 15 to 18 August 2022

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