Grant Nelson has allegedly conned victims from across South Africa and his arrest last year didn’t even slow him down.
AN ALLEGED con artist had hoped a “sex change” would keep him one step ahead of the law, but it wasn’t enough to fool a private investigator who saw through his new blonde-bombshell look.
Grant Nelson has allegedly conned victims from across South Africa and his arrest last year didn’t even slow him down.
In fact, there are so many victims that PI John Alexander says it is hard to keep up. But recently Nelson tried again to hide from police and Alexander by allegedly stealing the photograph of a woman on the internet and using it as his profile picture. He even changed his name to Letitia Schrobee.
“He probably went through this so that people would think he had a sex change,” explains Alexander. “People have been under the impression he is a female now, and that it is not the Grant Nelson we used to know.”
Alexander has a list of 60 people who claim they have been defrauded by Nelson. His alleged method is to advertise products online which he does on slick websites where he has high-end goods on offer.
One of his websites, Grants Goodies, claims to be a home decor shop that is “dedicated to helping our customers discover their own design personality”.
On offer are night lamps, mats and cosmetic boxes. The problem, explains Alexander, is that once clients pay Nelson he disappears and never delivers.
“Grant Goodie – Do Not Order!” one alleged victim warned on the online consumer review website Hello Peter.
The glossy pictures on Nelson’s website are like his new identity, stolen from the net, says Alexander. One of his alleged victims from Potchefstroom lost R24 000 after she paid him for bed sets
Another, a Polokwane woman, was forced to sell her car after she was allegedly conned out of R16 000.
Last year Alexander got his man. He was able to find a list of addresses linked to Nelson. But when he visited these places, people claimed they didn’t know Nelson.
“I arranged for one of the victims to deliver a letter of demand to him and he was so willing to accept the letter of demand as he was claiming he was willing to settle the issue,” says Alexander.
Nelson appeared from one of the residences where a few days earlier a person had come out and claimed they didn’t know him. He was arrested in connection with 15 counts of fraud and forgery and appeared in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court. He was released on bail and allegedly continued his scam spree.
“He will never stop; he is a serial fraudster,” says Alexander. One of his alleged victims was even his mediator and lawyer. “He dropped him as a client after he sent them false proof of payments.”
Alexander believes Nelson is holding out in Boksburg, although his profile does include a Germiston address.
Police confirmed that there was a warrant out for Nelson’s arrest. Now Alexander is hoping that someone will recognise the real Grant Nelson and provide the tip-off needed to bring him to justice. “This time we will be opposing bail.”
If anyone believes they have seen Nelson, they can contact John Alexander at 071 915 4321 or Annemarie Viviers who manages a WhatsApp group for Nelson’s victims at 082 438 6485.
