A woman, at the centre of an elaborate wedding venue scam, has been granted R20,000 bail.
Prelyn Mohanlall appeared in the Verulam Magistrate's Court following her arrest in Shallcross.
The 53-year-old woman is accused of scamming 17 couples out of thousands of rands by promising them the wedding their dreams. She would allegedly demand monies before the couple had seen the venue.
According to Reaction Unit, Mohanlall allegedly collected monies from couples via electronic transfer for a wedding venue in Botha's Hill.
When families arrived at the venue, they found that it had been double booked, had no electricity or water, and the building was in a dilapidated condition.
Rusa's Prem Balram said their officers were approached by a couple who claimed they were scammed out of R26,000.
"When details of the Wedding Venue Scam was circulated, the Rusa Operations Centre received 17 calls for assistance regarding the same suspect. Complainants were from several provinces in South Africa. A detective from Boksburg North then contacted Reaction officers and informed that the same suspect was wanted for two cases of fraud opened in Gauteng in 2024. The woman had allegedly defrauded a car dealership of R200 000 and a couple for R26 000," he said.
Following her apprehension, she was handed over to police and has since appeared in court.