A man who cloned credit cards will be spending the next three years in jail.

Lunga Bornside (36) was convicted and sentenced in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Bellville on 3 May for fraud and contravening the Electronic Communications and Transaction Act (ECT).

“Bornside pleaded guilty on all charges as he entered into a plea agreement with the state,” Zinzi Hani, spokesperson of the Hawks, says.

“He was subsequently sentenced to six years imprisonment on thirteen charges of fraud, of which three years were suspended with conditions. Furthermore, he was further sentenced to three years on three charges of contravening the ECT Act linked to the card cloning scam, of which three years were suspended for a period of five years.”

Bornside was arrested at Cape Town International Airport following a tip-off received by the Hawks’ serious commercial crime investigation team in 2019.

“He was released on R1 000 bail upon his first court appearance and was rearrested in November 2021 after a warrant of arrest was issued for failing to appear in court. He remained behind bars until the day of his sentencing on 3 May.”