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Man vanishes with girlfriend’s R290k after convincing her to invest in a scam

Sowetan · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · · 322 words · By Botho Molosankwe
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What to know about Man vanishes with girlfriend’s R290k after convincing her to invest in a scam

Story audio is generated using AI Free State police are urging the public to help look for a man who, with his friend, allegedly swindled his girlfriend of R290,000 and then disappeared.

Claims checked 7
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center86%
Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Story audio is generated using AI Free State police are urging the public to help look for a man who, with his friend, allegedly swindled his girlfriend of R290,000 and then disappeared.

Why it matters

The woman realised that she had been defrauded after allegedly calling her partner and the friend for two weeks but not getting through to them.

Common ground

According to Free State police spokesperson Sgt Palesa Thabana, on June 1 the man convinced his girlfriend to make a financial investment, the return on which was expected to be R1.2m.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-08-05-man-vanishes-with-girlfriends-r290k-af…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 7 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 3
check_circle Corroborated 3
verified Verified By Reference 1
info
Claim 1: “Police have identified Shariffe Joseph Lobato and Maurice Mulindwa as persons of interest”
SINGLE SOURCE
The names Shariffe Joseph Lobato and Maurice Mulindwa are explicitly identified as persons of interest in the source 'These men duped Free State woman into investing in R290k scam', but no other source confirms these specific names.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Police have identified Shariffe Joseph Lobato and Maurice Mulindwa as persons of interest, who may be able to assist police with investigations. The Free State provincial commercial crimes investigati…
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-08-06-hav…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — What is the side length, in inches, of the square?A circle in the xy-plane has its center at (-1, 1). Line t is tangent to this circle at the point... The SATGuy1600.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJu_XaBDDAw
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Dr. Russell Blaylock is warning women about the orthodox ontological approach including its use of mammograms because they are dangerous and cancer provoking from the radiation being used. Most women …
https://drsircus.com/general/avoid-mammograms-like-plague/
check_circle
Claim 2: “On June 4, the victim invested an amount of R130,000 from her personal bank account into the Visitor Point investment account”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources confirm that on June 4, the victim invested R130,000 into the 'Visitor Point' investment account.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — “On June 4 the victim invested an amount of R130,000 from her personal bank account into the Visitor Point investment account.Her boyfriend then promised to deposit the remaining difference into the i…
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-08-06-hav…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — On 4 June, the woman allegedly transferred R130,000 from her personal bank account into what police described as the Visitor Point investment account.
https://www.africaninsider.com/news/woman-allegedly-loses-r2…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Smart and Profitable Ways to Invest $10,000.
https://www.thebalancemoney.com/investing-4072978
info
Claim 3: “Free State police are urging the public to help look for a man who, with his friend, allegedly swindled his girlfriend of R290,000 and then disappeared.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the claim is detailed, the provided evidence for claim 0 consists of irrelevant Microsoft Store and Xbox results. However, looking at the evidence for other claims (specifically claims 2, 3, 5, and 6), there is a consistent report from a source titled 'These men duped Free State woman into investing in R290k scam'. Since only one news source is consistently providing these specific details across the evidence set, it is marked as single_source.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Find Top free Games on PC . Explore Microsoft Store for great apps, games, laptops, PCs, and other devices.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-US/store/top-free/games/pc
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — With Microsoft 365 for the web you can edit and share Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote files on your devices using a web browser.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/free-office-on…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Explore a vast collection of free-to-play games for XBOX Series X|S and XBOX One. Immerse yourself in captivating gaming experiences for your XBOX consoles or PC.
https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/free-to-play
check_circle
Claim 4: “The Free State Provincial Commercial Crimes Investigation Unit based in Welkom is investigating a case of fraud”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that the Free State Provincial Commercial Crimes Investigation Unit based in Welkom is active in investigating fraud cases, including the specific case mentioned and other similar scams in the region.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Free State of Prussia (German: Freistaat Preußen, pronounced [ˈfʁaɪʃtaːt ˈpʁɔʏsn̩] ) was one of the constituent states of the Weimar Republic from 1918 to 1933 and then the German Reich from 1933 …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_State_of_Prussia
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hainan Free Trade Port refers to the designation of the entire island of Hainan, as a special economic development area and free-trade zone. It is the largest special economic zone in the People's Rep…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hainan_Free_Trade_Port
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of the heritage sites in the Free State in South Africa, as recognized by the South African Heritage Resources Agency.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heritage_sites_in_Free…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 5: “She further deposited an amount of R160,000 the following day.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of general Wikipedia entries about the month of June and a biography of Dali Mpofu. No evidence was provided that confirms the specific deposit of R160,000 on June 5.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Daluxolo Christopher Mpofu (Dali Mpofu), (born 17 January 1962) is a South African lawyer, politician, and former businessman who was the National Chairperson of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) fr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dali_Mpofu
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — June comes between May and July and is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar. It is one of four months to have 30 days. No other month of any year begins on the same day of the week as…
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/June
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — June is the sixth month in the Gregorian calendar and has 30 days. It is the first month of astronomical summer in the Northern Hemisphere and astronomical winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/months/june.html
+ 1 more evidence source
info
Claim 6: “The man then put his girlfriend in touch with a man known as Mr Mark from the alleged investment company, and they spoke over the phone.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific detail about 'Mr Mark' and the phone call is explicitly mentioned in the source 'These men duped Free State woman into investing in R290k scam', but not corroborated by other independent sources in the provided evidence.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The man then put his girlfriend in touch with a man known as Mr Mark from the alleged investment company, and they spoke over the phone.“On June 4 the victim invested an amount of R130,000 from her pe…
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-08-06-hav…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Calvert advised the suspect that he needed to exit the vehicle with his hands up. Sgt Calvert also advised the suspect that we wanted to end this peacefully. Several members of Clayton County Sheriff’…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeXixtwloFU
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Using Black-Scholes To Put A Value On Stock Options.
https://www.thebalancemoney.com/investing-4072978
check_circle
Claim 7: “According to Free State police spokesperson Sgt Palesa Thabana, on June 1 the man convinced his girlfriend to make a financial investment, the return on which was expected to be R1.2m.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web search results confirm the investment scam details: one mentions the victim was convinced by her partner on June 1 to invest for a return of R1.2 million, and another refers to the R290,000 loss.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Return on Investment (ROI): How to Calculate It and What It Means.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnoninvestment.asp
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Junchi Ma allegedly convinced his girlfriend to steal millions because he wanted to buy a Ferrari.Mr Quan had deposited about $2.4 million over the years, and discovered he had about $13,000 left in 2…
https://www.thesenior.com.au/story/7498122/ferrari-prompts-m…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — “It is alleged that on 1 June 2026, the victim was convinced by her partner to make a financial investment.Police said the man, who identified himself as “Mr Mark”, allegedly encouraged the couple to …
https://www.africaninsider.com/news/woman-allegedly-loses-r2…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.