Zakiya McKenzie
zakiyam@caxton.co.za
David O'Reilly of Melville and Michele Dean of Auckland Park are warning residents to beware of an elaborate scam by an old man calling himself John Nkosi.
On 23 August he came to their houses and offered to re-pave their driveways and walkways at a hugely reduced cost. Once a lump sum deposit had been paid, he disappeared.
“He seemed very desperate from the beginning, as if he must begin working now because he was extremely hungry,” said O'Reilly. “He was very convincing, he had a black briefcase with a file of very impressive photos which he said was his previous work. He also had a list of references, but in hindsight, it did strike me that the pages seemed too clean to have been through as many hands as there were names.”
He arranged for the man to return the following week to work on his driveway. “It became very attractive, the price dropped from R6 000 to R4 000. He wanted me to give him a R2 000 deposit right then.”
Things went wrong when O'Reilly refused to pay a deposit unless he was given a receipt with proof of address or some other contact, “He asked if I was racist and became very sharp and aggressive.” He eventually agreed to pay the deposit.
Dean said the man became aggressive when she asked for his name and cellphone number. He accused her of being a racist. “I was very aware that he was guilt tripping me, but I didn't think it was a hoax,” said Dean
Dean and O'Reilly agreed for the man to begin work and labourers began digging up their driveways. Nkosi said the two workers had been with him for a year, but it was later revealed that they had in fact met him that same morning. Nkosi then disappeared leaving the workers unpaid and the paving dug up. Dean and O'Reiley were out of pocket of more than R3 000.
“I was totally suckered into it and I've let it go, but I'm more concerned about it happening to other people in the area,” concluded O'Reilly.
