Cape Town – A scammer posing as Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya has been arrested after reportedly extorting over R100,000 from an associate of a prominent South African businessman.
According to IOL, Hawks spokesperson, Brigadier Thandi Mbambo, confirmed the arrest, revealing that the suspect had attempted to extort a businessman.
“In October 2024, the suspect allegedly contacted a prominent South African businessman residing in Gauteng via WhatsApp, falsely claiming to be Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, the National Head of the Hawks,” the report quoted Mbambo as saying.
A man has been arrested for allegedly impersonating Hawks head, Godfrey Lebeya , and swindling a prominent Gauteng businessman out of one hundred thousand rand.
Police say the 42 year old suspect duped the businessman, after claiming that his phone had been hacked.
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— Kaya News (@KayaNews) May 10, 2025
“Using a profile picture and personal details resembling those of Lieutenant General Lebeya, the suspect deceived the victim. It is alleged that the suspect claimed that the mobile phone of the victim had been hacked and, under the pretext of assisting with a security breach, requested the victim’s personal information,” Mbambo said.
Believing he was speaking to the real Lebeya, the businessman shared personal details, which led the scammer to contact an associate and demand money by threatening to expose their personal information, The Citizen reported.
The associate made several payments, totaling more than R100,000.
The scammer was arrested on May 6 in Petrus Steyn, Free State, and faces charges of fraud and impersonating a police officer.
The real Lebeya has urged those affected to come forward and reminded the public not to make payments to police officers, as they are not authorised to solicit money for services.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
