The Western Cape has a lot going for it.

It seems like every month there’s a story about Cape Town being one of the most Instagrammable cities in the world, or one of our restaurants scoring international acclaim, and the list goes on.

On the flip side, a number of international law enforcement agencies have said Cape Town is the romance scam capital of the world, so you can’t have it all.

Rudi Brits might not have used the same methods as the romance scammers mentioned above, but he did use social media to meet women from Stellenbosch online, before robbing them blind.

Here’s TimesLIVE:

Stellenbosch police appealed for help on Thursday from women who may have been befriended, and then defrauded by, a man identified as Rudi Brits.

Brits, according to a statement by police, has allegedly embarked on a crime spree dating from 2010 until his arrest in November 2019.

His escapades allegedly included befriending wealthy women on social media, starting romantic relationships, borrowing large sums of money and then disappearing.

“It is alleged that Rudi Brits befriended wealthy women on a social media platforms which led to romantic relationships. After moving in with the victims, he would borrow substantial amounts of money from them and disappear with the money and expensive household goods,” police said.

Rudi must really know how to pick a target, because judging by that picture up top, he’s not winning any beauty contests.

Relax, I think it’s fine to have a go at his looks when you consider that there are 20 cases stacked up against him, following his arrest by a flying squad in the Eastern Cape in November of last year.

Police believe that there are actually more of Rudi’s victims out there, and have urged others who have been conned and defrauded by him to contact Col Deon Beneke on 021 809 5109 or 082 850 9742 for assistance.

Brits is due to appear in the Stellenbosch magistrate’s court on February 6, where he is applying for bail.

I imagine there may be a few women waiting to give him a piece of their mind.

[source:timeslive]