NORTHERN CAPE – Two unrelated fraud investigations in the Northern Cape have exposed equally brazen schemes that cost victims a combined R5,7 million, with an investment operator and a wine cellar employee now facing 64 criminal charges between them.
In the first case, Jacobus Hendrik Luttig (43) and his company Vixheim Trading Pty Ltd (juristic person) made a brief appearance before Augrabies Magistrate Court on Thursday 11 June. The duo are facing 14 counts of fraud, 15 counts of cyber forgery and 13 counts of cyber uttering.
The accused was arrested by the Upington Serious Commercial Crimes team on Wednesday 10 June.
Luttig stands accused of misleading investors from June 2024 to February 2025 while acting as the director of Vixheim Trading Pty Ltd. He purported his company to be registered with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and authorised to offer low to medium risk trades. Investors were promised that they could request regular withdrawals of their profit and that their capital invested was guaranteed and would not be affected.
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Consequently, the accused falsified investment statements that indicated sustained growth to investors. Some investors made withdrawal requests but did not receive their payouts. Their capital investments also vanished, with a combined loss of R1 420 000.
Wine cellar employee faces separate fraud charges
In the second unrelated matter, members of another Serious Commercial Crimes team arrested Livonis Johannes Louw (39) on the same day. Louw has been charged with 22 counts of fraud.
Allegations are that from March 2024 to December 2025, Louw, as an employee of Orange River Cellars, purposefully and unlawfully, with the intention to defraud, misrepresented to his employer and its suppliers by altering bank account numbers of suppliers and replacing them with his own personal banking details. The company suffered losses amounting to R4 310 568.
The two matters made brief appearances before the Augrabies and Upington Magistrate Courts respectively. Luttig was granted bail of R5 000, while Louw was granted bail of R4 000. Both cases are expected back in court on 13 and 16 July, said Lieutenant Colonel Tebogo Thebe, spokesperson of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks).
