The lottery thief who stole R8-million from a friend

There's that saying about friends, the one that says that when you are experiencing good times, you have an abundance of friends. But when hard times fall on you, friends are hard to find. 

Well, there is such a thing as friends and foes. So when choosing either, think carefully, be wary and think with your brain, not just your heart. Because sometimes, people can be very manipulative and appear trusting, without having your best intentions in mind. 

Read more: Woman loses her $26-million lottery ticket

This is definitely somewhat true when it comes to this man's story. 

"Zimbabwean Emmanuel Mundiya won the lottery in 2019, receiving R8.2 million in winnings. The foreign national didn’t have a South African bank account at the time though, so turned to his friend Qongani Moyo asking that he receive the funds into his account." (MSN)

But things took a quick turn for the worse when his friend, Moyo, betrayed his trust and used some of the money to buy a luxury car. Then he blocked Mundiya's number, cancelled his bank card, and disappeared. 

Read more: Imagine finding out that you are the R86-million lottery winner...

Mundiya laid charges against his 'friend', who appeared in court last year, but he has since then disappeared after paying bail on several occasions.

"The National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) has since seized the remaining R3 million left in Moyo’s account and returned it to its rightful owner, but the paper trail of transfers between several accounts opened in Moyo’s name have yet to lead authorities to the perpetrator of the crime." (MSN)

We cannot imagine how Mundiya must be feeling, the betrayal of a friend cuts deep, especially when trust is broken and it involves money...

Moral of the story, money and friends don't mix...

Image Courtesy of Unsplash Website