A man who defrauded farmers of Bultfontein of R18 million was found guilty and sentenced to eight years’ direct imprisonment.
Prinsloo Phillippus Pretorius (51) and his company Eco Grain CC appeared before the Bloemfontein High Court on 22 November, where he was convicted and sentenced for fraud and contravention of the Close Corporations Act.
His conviction stems from events that took place from October 2019 until January 2020.
Pretorius took receipt of maize from farmers in the Bultfontein area, but he never paid them for it.
As a result the victims were prejudiced and suffered a combined loss of more than R18 million.
The Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit investigated, and Pretorius was arrested for the crimes on 8 February 2021.
