Mozambique ‘outfitter’ deceives hunters
Scams aren’t just limited to emails saying you have won a big prize, as long as you provide your bank account information. Scams now have extended into international hunting.
On June 1, Montana hunters Jessica Pignanelli and her fiancé, Dylan Lencioni, had finally landed in Africa after 39.5 hours of flight.
“We were standing in front of the one-room airport expecting to be picked up, and we texted Charoline Wepener (the purported owner of Mozambique Senga Senga Hunting Safari), but we found ourselves immediately blocked,” Pignanelli said. “This is a Muslim country and hardly anyone speaks English.”
On what was to be her first international hunting trip, the couple had won the $10,000 leopard hunt at an online auction at a SCI Great Falls Chapter event in Montana. “We were on a three-way call with her,” Pignanelli said. “We added a kudu and a nyala, so we wired an extra $7,500. Unfortunately, we lost all that money.”
Pignanelli and Lencioni were refunded the $10,000 by SCI Great Falls. They also ran into someone who could understand English at the airport, and from there, they were connected to another outfitter.
“We ended up having to pay them for a stay, but we did not get to hunt,” she said. “They helped us get our hunting permits and immigration paperwork. We went 3-4 hours north to their property. We stayed there for six days because that was the next flight.” Multiple attempted calls to Wepener were unsuccessful.
“I feel very confused, scared and frustrated,” Pignanelli said.
The couple wasn’t alone in being scammed. Three other hunters that were booked had to cancel after hearing about what happened, and Wepener appears to be on the run.
According to the South African newspaper Lowvelder, Canadian hunter Curt Thompson won an auction for a Cape buffalo hunt from Senga Senga and booked a trip to begin July 1. In June, he learned Wepener was no stranger to selling questionable hunting excursions and stayed home.
According to Thompson, he hired a private detective to assist him in preparing fraud charges against Wepener.
Lowvelder also reported about a German hunter who was fortunate to have his money refunded after he had been sold a crocodile hunt.
Dries Van Collier, the chief executive officer of the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa, said the organization was aware of the allegations against Wepener.
“However nobody is currently aware of her whereabouts,” he told Lone Star Outdoor News. “Our national newspapers have also published articles pertaining to her activities and scams.”
Brad Clemens was listed as the U.S. contact for the outfitter, and said he was contacted by Wepener to try to help book hunts.
“I quit doing any information or helping or booking hunts in December 2023,” he said. “It sounds like she has bailed on a bunch of hunters, and she needs to be held liable for the money she has stolen from hunters. I’m trying to help clients that bought hunts to get their money back.”
Ben Cassidy, Safari Club International’s Director of Governmental Affairs, also said the organization is aware of the allegations.
“We are currently working with multiple of our affected members and relevant government authorities to investigate the issue further,” he said, saying the organization would refrain from further comment while the investigation was ongoing.
While many organizations and articles recommend doing research, seeking references and making sure the outfitter has been vetted by professionals when booking a safari, Senga Senga appears to have maneuvered through the process through clever marketing and sales tactics.
