The law catches up with PMB fraudster

A Pietermaritzburg con artist, who stands accused of duping 16 residents of over R2 million collectively, is finally facing the law.

Edwin Landman, who has multiple fraud cases pending against him, was handed down his first sentence last week after being convicted of defrauding a city school.

The victims of Landman’s scams, many of whom are elderly residents, have welcomed this first conviction against him, hoping it will lead to justice in their pending cases.

ALSO READ | IEC commissioner Nomsa Masuku arrested for R1.2m bursary fraud

According to the court documents, Landman was hired by a school in the city to complete a job on the school property. Landman was paid, but did not complete the job he was hired for. He was also accused of stealing from the school.

Landman was sentenced to nine months imprisonment or a R4 000 fine at the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s court.

Landman, who portrayed himself as an owner of a construction company, was hired by numerous people around the city. More than 10 victims have attempted to open cases against Landman, claiming that he took the money for the job and then failed to complete it.

From what The Witness has seen, a total of four cases have been opened against Landman thus far.

Last year, a group of residents, who were conned by Landman, came together and created a WhatsApp group chat, where they shared their stories about the accused.

Loraine Jonker, who is a pensioner, said she hired him as a contractor to build a cottage.

This man was tasked with building a granny cottage on my son-in-law’s property. One thing led to another, and building materials didn’t arrive and people came to us to collect money that he had not paid them. Eventually, we kicked him out and had to get another contractor to finish the job. In total, I lost R142 000.

“The police are aware of him and we would love to put him behind bars,” she said.

Jonker said her matter was being handled by her attorney.

“I have been in and out of court since last year trying to get justice. It is a long and tiring process, but I am still fighting,” Jonker added.

She said she hoped this first conviction would lead to many more.

Another victim Dave Smith, who owns the company Home, Design & Garden, said he will not rest until justice is served.

ALSO READ | Wanted fraudster arrested in Durban car dealership

“In 2021, we employed this man as our maintenance manager. With the work that we do, we do not ask our clients for deposits, we are paid upon completion. Unknown to us, this man was requesting deposits from our clients and a weekly top-up fee up until the job was completed. We were only able to pick up on this when we invoiced our clients when the job was finished,” said Smith, adding that the conman did not do any work.

Smith said he was not able to open a case as he was told that he was not scammed, his clients were.

Most of my clients are elderly people. They mostly wanted to let it go and write it off as they were scared. In total, he took around R200 000.