A 53-year-old South African attorney, Prelyn Mohanlall, who was banned from practicing law, was arrested on Tuesday (Jan 7) for scamming 17 couples. She took large sums of money from them for the same wedding venue she had no connection with. She was tracked by a private security company, Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), through their Facebook page. Her lawyer, Chris Gounden, reached out to RUSA asking to pay back the victims who can show evidence of payments. 

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Prelyn’s scam began when she convinced couples to pay large sums in advance for wedding venue bookings, only for them to discover that the venues were nonexistent or unsuitable. On their wedding day, the couples arrived to find empty locations with no electricity or water, unaware that their special day had turned into a nightmare.

Also read: Female billionaire sentenced to death for multi-billion dollar fraud in Vietnam

Timeline of events: How RUSA tracked the fraudster

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  • December 2023: The first case of Mohanlall’s scam was reported when a couple hired Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) to track her down.

  • January 2024: RUSA’s investigation revealed that Mohanlall had scammed 17 couples from various provinces, defrauding them of their hard-earned money.

  • January 2024: After a detailed investigation, RUSA tracked Mohanlall and arrested her on Tuesday.

One of the victims sharing how the ordeal affected their wedding said, "What she 'stole' from us drastically impacted our planning". He explained that he and his fiancée had to cancel their wedding and start saving again, turning their dream event into a nightmare.

Wedding Venue Scammer Arrested For Fraud: Boksburg - Gauteng A 53 year old woman who scammed seventeen (17) couples...

Posted by Reaction Unit South Africa on Tuesday, January 7, 2025
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Past criminal history

The investigations unveiled that Preylnn was involved in other frauds as well and had a criminal history of more than two decades, including being disbarred as a criminal attorney by the Law Society for stealing from a client’s trust fund account. The Boksburg North police reported that she was being sought for a defrauding case of a car dealership of 200,000 South African Rand (R 2,00,000, Rs 9,07,730) and another couple of 26,000 South African Rand (R 26,000, Rs 1,18,004). 

Also Read: Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh receives 40-year sentence and $9 million restitution for financial fraud

Mohanlall’s defence: Financial struggles amid debt

In an interview, Preyln said that her business struggled financially, particularly after her partners left and many weddings were cancelled. "It's not a scam, and I am not a scammer. My company went through so much," she said, accepting that she owed nine couples around 60,000 South African Rand (Rs 2,72,319) and promising to pay them back. 

While efforts are underway to compensate the victims, Mohanlall's court date will determine whether her promises to repay the defrauded couples will have an impact on her sentencing.

(With inputs from agencies)