Fouche was arrested two weeks ago in Garsfontein, Pretoria province, on suspicion of defrauding a woman who was a senior police officer in Gauteng province.Photo provided
Former KwaZulu-Natal judge Johan Karel Fouché was released on bail after being dubbed a Casanova fraudster for his smooth speaking skills and romantic relationships with his victims.
Fouche was arrested two weeks ago in Garsfontein, Pretoria province, on suspicion of defrauding a woman who was a senior police officer in Gauteng province.
The latest fraud case is one of many that have been opened against him and his alleged accomplice, Leonie Dempers of Edengro Holdings, over the past 11 years. The victims claim Dempers and Foucher defrauded them of their cash and homes through elaborate “debt relief” schemes.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Rumuka Mahanjani said Mr Fouche appeared in the Benoni Magistrates Court and filed a bail application on Thursday and was released on R5,000 bail.
Dempers was in the courtroom during Foucher's appearance, according to a person close to the case.
Police spokeswoman Col. Brenda Muridili said Fouché is suspected of defrauding the latest victim by telling her he worked for a debt advisory firm called Capital Legacy.
“She paid more than R90,000 to repay her debt and then lent the perpetrator about R14,000, but she only received part of the money. [is] When she filed the case…he is currently going through the court process,” Muridili said.
She said Mr Fouché had been held at Modderfontein Prison since his arrest.
Grant Feetze, head of marketing for Capital Legacy, said the company had no relationship with Mr. Foucher, but that it appeared Mr. Foucher had misused the name.
Western Cape Hawks spokesperson Zinji Hani confirmed that police were investigating at least five fraud cases against Foucher and Dempels, and Muridili confirmed a further earlier fraud case against Foucher.
Foucher was previously convicted of 70 counts of fraud and sentenced to seven years in prison, suspended for five years.
A Mail & Guardian investigation in 2022 revealed that Foucher was believed to have discovered up to 30 new victims in a series of incidents dating back to 2012, defrauding them of cash and their homes.
At the time of the M&G's 2022 investigation, Mr Fouché appeared on the website as chief operating officer of Asifakame Financial Services, which he ran with Leonie Dempers.
The company's website no longer exists, but it describes itself as a “client's complete financial wellness partner” and offers services such as “loan sourcing,” “credit record rehabilitation,” “bond origination,” and “bond issuance.” It promised to help over-indebted consumers with services. relief”.
Asifakame advertised on its site that its services include “helping people who are already struggling with bonding.” They often canceled scheduled sales on the day of the auction to save their customers' homes. ”
However, the website was active until just three weeks ago and has since become inactive.
Mr. Foucher and Mr. Dempers were asked to comment on past customer complaints and fraud cases, stating that these were civil matters and that the parties involved had signed agreements but later changed their minds. Stated.
The Western Cape's Priority Crime Investigation Agency (Hawks) and Gauteng police earlier confirmed they were investigating six cases of fraud against Mr Fouché and Mr Dempers.
Several homeowners who were in financial trouble claim that Mr. Foucher and Mr. Dempers used an elaborate scheme to swindle them out of their cash and sell their homes to “investors.”
The two end up starting a business in the names of both indebted homeowners and investors who lend their properties to homeowners.
Victims were told they had the option of buying it back after seven years. The plan legally transferred the property into the investors' names and opened new bond accounts in their names.
The victim paid rent into one of Foucher's business accounts, and he was supposed to pay that rent to an investor, who was supposed to pay a new bond each month.
But homeowners and investors quickly realized the plan was doomed when Mr. Fouché was unable to pay the funds and the bond account became delinquent. The bank then sold the house at public auction.
Dirk Berger, one of the homeowners who claims to have been defrauded by Dempers, welcomed Foucher's arrest this week, but said he was shocked he was granted bail.
“I hope that the police will conduct a thorough investigation into this matter as many victims have been affected by his scheme and that of Leonie Dempers. We hope that he will be brought to justice and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Berger said.
“By now we should have enough evidence to convict him, because he keeps coming and going, and then he disappears, and then all of a sudden he pops up somewhere else,” Berger said. said.
Rizl van Rooyen, a paralegal who was still studying to qualify when she was allegedly defrauded by Dempers in 2012, gave evidence on behalf of seven victims of criminal cases being investigated by the Hawks. He said he was collecting them. She said she sold her home to an investor introduced by Mr Dempers, but the sale was ultimately enforced by Absa after a new deposit on the property was not paid.
Ms Van Rooyen said she was “thrilled” by Mr Fouche's “long overdue” arrest but was disappointed that he had been released on bail.
“The justice system seems slow to respond and it is clear that he has been given license to continue his misconduct,” she said.
“What remains a mystery to me is that Johann Karel Fouché (previously convicted of fraud) and his accomplice Léonie Douglas Dempers, despite the fact that there have been ample cases and investigations against them. He has been on the run from the Hawks and the law for many years.
“Johann Karel Fouché and Leonie Douglas Dempers have used their connections to deceive many innocent people over the years,” she claimed.
Dempers declined to comment.