A Harare woman last week appeared in court for allegedly defrauding a trust of US$137,400 in a property sale scam.
The suspect Virginia Maida (62) was granted US$1 000 bail by magistrate Donald Ndirowei. The state alleged that in July last year, Maida offered to sell a house in Marlborough to Mash Family Futures Trust for US$120,000.
She claimed to be the executrix of her late brother’s estate and presented documents suggesting she had authority to sell the property.
Acting on this, the trust paid the full amount in cash.
However, it was later discovered that Maida did not have the proper authority from the Master of the High Court to sell the estate property.
Beneficiaries of the estate had filed complaints and a High Court application, which ultimately nullified the sale in November. Maida allegedly failed to inform the complainant of the legal challenges and provided false residential addresses.
The trust discovered the fraud in December and reported it to police. Maida was arrested on January 11.
The total prejudice is US$137,400, and nothing was recovered.
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