The Pretoria North Magistrate's Court has sentenced Hugo Ras and Willem Andries van Jaarsveld of Sinoville and Rosslyn, respectively, to a collective 41 years' imprisonment for fraud and theft. Ras was also found guilty of being in possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition, while Van Jaarsveld was found guilty of forgery. The two sold a boat to Michel Lester Bolhuis which belonged to Conroy du Plessis. It had been taken in for repairs at the shop where Van Jaarsveld worked. Ras saw the boat at the repair shop when he visited Van Jaarsveld.

Ras then offered to sell the boat to Bolhuis for R200 000 and together with Van Jaarsveld, falsified the papers to make it look as if Du Plessis had sold it to Ras. Willem Andries van Jaarsveld waits for Hugo Ras to finish talking to his lawyer, Andre Steenkamp. Hanti Otto Bolhuis reported the transaction to the police after he read a newspaper report about Ras being arrested for another case. He told them Ras had sold him a boat for R200 000, and he suspected the sale might not be legitimate.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said, after an investigation, it was discovered the sale was indeed fraudulent. "The National Prosecuting Authority welcomed the sentence. The prosecutor, Hanli du Preez, said although the matter took long to finalise due to delays caused by Ras' failure to appear in court, changing his legal representation and being arrested several times in other matters, she was, therefore, pleased the matter came to completion," she said. In May 2013, while Ras was at a gambling den, the police received a tip-off that he was dealing drugs there. When they arrived at the den, they searched him and found an illegal firearm and ammunition on him. Ras was charged for being in the possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition. He was also arrested in 2011 for fraud and theft.