A Western Cape man who allegedly ran a pyramid scheme is set to appear in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Thursday, October 28, after he was served with a court summons on Monday, September 20.
According to IOL, the 66-year-old faces 34 counts of fraud, a count of money laundering and contravening the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FIAS) Act.
Between the period of September 17, 2015, and May 30, 2018, the accused solicited funds from members of the public with a total of R3.1 million that would be used to trade cryptocurrency on forex platforms, reports News 24.
According to the investigation conducted by the Hawk’s Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team, the invested funds would allegedly yield guaranteed monthly returns of 4% to investors.
“This was never the case as the funds were instead laundered into other various bank accounts where it was used for personal gain,” Hani said.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, attorney Wharren Jacobus Fortuin, 41, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment for theft of over R1 million from a trust account.
Hani confirmed that Fortuin received funds which he was obliged to hold in a trust from claimants. During the period of January 2012 to January 2014, the money received was not kept in the agreed trust or used for its intended purpose but were misused by Fortuin.
The court also declared Fortuin unfit to ever be in the possession of a firearm.
Picture: Cape {town} Etc gallery