The assets of an alleged scamster who duped people into believing worthless stones were valuable gems were frozen by the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Friday.

According to court papers, a syndicate conned various people in northern KwaZulu-Natal with their diamond scam.

Daniel Olivier, of Kempton Park, Benny Dube, of Roodepoort, Wellington Sibanda, of Soweto, and a person named only as Jonathan, would contact unsuspecting people – such as someone advertising a vehicle for sale – and offer to buy their ware.

Instead of handing over cash they would offer them worthless stones.

Olivier (52) would then pretend to be a diamond valuer and convince victims the worthless gems were worth far more than the amount the victim wanted for their ware. He would ask for some money as a "difference in value".

The men would also show victims a fraudulent SA Revenue Service document that purported to show the stones were valuable.

When the victims handed over money, the alleged scamsters would disappear. The confidence tricks were committed between October 2007 and February last year, when the suspects were arrested.

On Friday Judge Anton van Zyl granted an order that Dube's Mercedes-Benz and more than R30 000 found in his car be preserved. The next legal step would be forfeiting these assets to the State.

The director of public prosecutions alleged the assets should be forfeited as they are the proceeds of crime.

Sapa

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