The alleged fraudulent activities of Nicole Johnson were laid bare during her latest bail application in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court.
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The wife of alleged 28s gang boss Ralph Stanfield returned to court stating that her daughter needed medical attention and that her businesses were failing while she was incarcerated.
Johnson and Stanfield were arrested alongside Johannes Abrahams, Denver Booysen and Jose Brand on several charges including the attempted murder of Stanfield’s former employee. The employee allegedly stole more than R1 million from Stanfield and Johnson.
During the bail hearing, it was revealed that the former employee-turned-state-witness did not arrive for work on 24 November 2022 after he was informed that Stanfield planned to ‘kill him’. According to IOL, he hid his girlfriend’s BMW in a complex in Milnerton and then ‘went into hiding’.
The State alleged that Stanfield and Johnson responded by going on a ‘witch hunt’, threatened the witness’s father, assaulted a neighbour and stole the car.
State prosecutor advocate Nathan Adriaanse played an audio recording made by the tracking company, which was confirmed by Johnson’s cellphone records. Johnson alleged that she was the owner of the vehicle to locate it. However, in her defence, she stated that the owner of the car was with her and knew that she called the vehicle tracking company.
Furthermore, gunmen opened fire on the home of the father of one of the complainants in November last year while Johnson and Stanfield were in custody. This was confirmed by the Anti-Gang Unit.
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In her testimony, Johnson told the court that she noticed that her 15-year-old daughter was ill during a prison visit. Subsequent tests revealed that she suffered from a medical condition that might require surgery.
To this end, defence advocate Laurence Hodes noted that only Johnson noticed that something was wrong with her child, which proved that her mother could not take care of the children.
Johnson, who is also the owner of two Sorbet Salons, now faces the possibility of losing both franchises that Sorbet cancelled the agreements.
Adriaanse labelled her as dishonest and stated that she couldn’t make a medical diagnosis based on her third-year law student qualification, adding that she did not present any new fact in the new bail application.
Conversely, Hodes stated that the facts presented to the court were new, and proved that Johnson could not foresee her child becoming ill or her businesses being affected. He argued that she could renegotiate her franchise deals if she were to be released.
The magistrate will deliver her judgment on 16 January.
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More details emerge in case against alleged 28s gang boss and his wife
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