Stanford Tapiwa Marongwe, a 21-year-old from Gweru, has been sentenced to 36 months in prison for defrauding three victims using mobile money scams. The ruling was handed down at the Gweru Magistrates’ Court.
On September 21, 2024, Marongwe targeted a cashier at a mobile money outlet, requesting to use a calculator. While using the cashier’s phone, he saved his number with a fraudulent label and sent a “please call me” message to himself. He then created a fake text message claiming to have transferred USD450 to the cashier’s mobile wallet. Believing the transfer was legitimate, the cashier handed him the cash.
The fraud was uncovered during end-of-day reconciliations. Further investigations revealed that Marongwe had used the same scheme to defraud two other victims of USD $850 and USD $1000.
The court sentenced Marongwe to 36 months in prison, with 8 months suspended for 5 years and an additional 18 months suspended on the condition of restitution. He will serve an effective 10 months behind bars.
