Within the past three years, several complaints of fraud have been reported to police departments in the West Rand area, all against a man allegedly promising construction work which he never completes.
According to IRS Forensic Investigations (IRSFI), Jaco le Roux is under investigation for allegedly underbidding against his competitors for a construction job, thus ensuring that he receives the contract. Complaints from his customers suggest that, after receiving a deposit of up to 50 per cent of the quoted amount, Le Roux would work for a few days before never showing up again. The work would then reportedly be left unfinished, or be of substandard quality.
André van Wyk, who is a Senior Specialist Investigator at the IRSFI, approached the News about Le Roux. Van Wyk is assigned to the case against Le Roux and has been investigating him for the past two years. He said there are currently six ongoing investigations against Le Roux that he knows of, and another three will be registered against him within the coming week.
IRSFI is a private investigations firm registered with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority, and works closely with law enforcement and other regulatory departments nationwide.
Since 2016, at least seven complainants in Krugersdorp, two in Roodepoort and one in Muldersdrift have opened cases against Le Roux with the various police departments. It is important to mention that, excluding theses cases, Le Roux was found not guilty in two cases in Linden (2006) and Roodepoort (2015). Three cases, one in Krugersdorp (2012), Roodepoort (2015) and Boksburg (2000) were withdrawn and other cases are still ongoing. One of the more recent cases involved a woman who reportedly paid Le Roux a sum of R200 000 to complete construction work for her. He allegedly never arrived.
Also read:
https://www.citizen.co.za/krugersdorp-news/308536/eight-arrested-for-fraud/
Paul Brümmer from Muldersdrift approached the IRSFI after months of getting nowhere with Le Roux on his own. Brümmer claimed that he made an EFT payment for a deposit of R15 000 to Le Roux to do perimeter fencing work on his property. He said Le Roux responded to a Facebook inquiry but only showed up on one occasion, working for three hours to plant eight steel fencing Y standards and a 50-metre string of wire.
“Since then, he has not come back. He had the one excuse after the other when I called him,” Brümmer said.
Brümmer has also taken to Facebook to warn others against Le Roux. Numerous other people soon commented on his post, saying that they had a similar experience with Le Roux and his contracting business.
“Jaco le Roux defrauded three other individuals using the exact same modus operandi during November and December this year, that I am aware of, to the amount of about R60 000,” Van Wyk said.
“I’ve escalated the case to the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) head office, as I’m of the opinion that the Krugersdorp prosecutions office is not taking things seriously, since he [Le Roux] has never been arrested, as far as I’m aware,” he added. Luvuyo Mfaku, spokesperson for the NPA, said their agency does not take up criminal investigations, and does not work with private agencies such as the IRSFSA. He said that therefore they are not aware of a case against Le Roux.
The News also made inquiries at the Krugersdorp Police Department and received a response assuring the public that they are currently continuing investigations into this matter, and saying that they will be combining the separate complaints into one overlapping investigation.
It should be made clear that Le Roux has not yet been arrested, but that he is under investigation because of the high number of reports made against him.
“A case such as this will take a very long time as there are many aspects to investigate,” Sergeant Tshepiso Mashele, spokesperson for the Krugersdorp Police, said.
The News could not make contact with Le Roux to get his comments. Other complainants are urged to contact the News and police with any information they have relating to claims of fraud against Le Roux.
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