“I don’t have anything to do with that woman!”

So, Juan Viljoen, a ‘fiancé’ and roommate of the notorious ‘Marloth swindler’, Larissa Maritz, told Lowvelder earlier this week.

For the last few years, Maritz has been on many people’s radar thanks to the dirty tricks, empty promises and ploys she allegedly used to swindle unsuspecting folks.

Lowvelder recently reported about a considerably sizeable group of people who reportedly lost thousands of rands during Christmas, when Maritz ‘let’ the same guest house, Mpofu Sunset Lodge in Marloth Park, to six separate families at the same time. The bomb dropped on Christmas Eve when the six families arrived at the guest house simultaneously, just to find out they had been betrayed.

Also read: Holiday hell | Alleged Marloth Park accommodation swindler’s scam exposed

Robert Kruger, whose family was staying at the lodge at the time of this fiasco, is now the driving force behind this class action against Maritz. Several criminal cases have since been made against Maritz.

Viljoen, who had been in a relationship with Maritz for years, has always been in the background of Maritz’s dealings. Except for the few times he allegedly threatened some people with violence, Viljoen has largely maintained a low profile.

That is until last Friday, when he tried to bribe, or at least persuade, a woman who laid criminal charges against Maritz to let the matter go. “Tannie, drop the case, and then you can take my Samsung TV, and then I’ll give you R10 000 along with the TV, which I’ll pay R2 000 a month, the first instalment on the 31st of January.”

This was the offer Viljoen, who works as a blockman at a Komatipoort butchery, made Susan Fouché, a guest house owner and leasing agent in this holiday town, last Friday. Maritz had rented two houses from Fouché in June last year, but allegedly never paid for them. “She owed me R36 000,” Fouché told Lowvelder this week.

Soon after, Fouché took Maritz to the small claims court, which ruled in Fouché’s favour. When Maritz couldn’t pay the agreed-upon amounts, Fouché obtained an attachment order. The bailiff struck on January 8, and seized a large Samsung TV.

At the same time, Fouché opened two cases of theft against Maritz, due to two falsified proofs of payment, one for R25 000 and the other for R11 000, which Maritz sent Fouché in June last year.

“I really want to sort this out. I don’t need any more drama in my life,” Viljoen told Fouché in a WhatsApp message, which Lowvelder has seen.

His sudden offer possibly sprouted from an incident in which the Komatipoort police contacted him on Friday to obtain a warning statement from him.

“I declined his offer. I will see them in court,” Fouché said.

Lowvelder sent written queries to both Maritz and Viljoen. Much like recent weeks, Maritz did not reply.

“Listen to me very closely, I have nothing to do with her stuff or all these stories. She and I are nothing of each other, so if you mention anything about me, I will sue you up to the highest court, believe you me!” Viljoen threatened Lowvelder.

• Despite the storm breaking out around Maritz’s alleged swindling, she started placing adverts for the guest house again. This time she did not market it as Mpofu Sunset Lodge on bookings.com, but as ‘The Big Rondawel’.
• Should you believe Maritz has in some way conned you, contact Kruger on 082 398 1502.