Sandringham police are investigating a case of fraud after residents in the Johannesburg north-eastern suburbs were apparently conned out of their funds in a ‘fake’ investment scheme.
Sandringham Police Station’s spokesperson, Captain Mohlaume Mamabolo, confirmed to North Eastern Tribune after the paper was tipped off by IRS Forensic Investigators in Houghton.
According to the investigators, IRS was engaged by a close family member of the ‘con-artist’ requesting they probe the matter.
A woman, who is believed to be a sister-in-law to the perpetrator, requested IRS Forensic Investigators to launch an investigation on alleged fraud by her brother-in-law, an accountant.
It is believed that multiple people have come forward, many from the Jewish community, claiming to have invested with the brother-in-law but that payments on their investments stopped being made.
Chad Thomas, chief forensic investigator at IRS, told Tribune the woman had told them her brother-in-law had invested her money with Steinhoff on her behalf, but after that Steinhoff collapsed. He claimed that she had lost her investment, Thomas added.
“When confronted by investigators from IRS, he [alleged fraudster] changed his story and stated that he had in fact invested in a game farm venture.
“In a follow-up meeting with IRS investigation team, he again changed his story and stated that he had used the funds from his investors as ‘high risk loans’ with the intention of securing high returns for his investors.”
It is believed that neither he nor his company is registered with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, according to IRS investigators.
The sister-in-law has instructed IRS Forensic Investigations to proceed with criminal investigations into the case which has been opened at the Sandringham Police Station as confirmed by Mamabolo on 27 June.
“We can confirm that a case of fraud has been registered with the Sandringham SAPS and an investigation is currently under way. No arrest has been made yet as the case was only opened with the police on Wednesday [26 June] and assigned to a detective,” said Mamabolo.
Thomas claims that this case has all the trademarks of an affinity Ponzi scheme and further estimates that the total losses in this particular scam currently run into tens of millions of rands.
“An affinity fraud targets a specific community, generally a religious community, and can take the form of a Ponzi scheme,” Thomas said.
Details: chad@irsa.co.za
Related article:
https://northeasterntribune.co.za/235993/suspect-in-police-custody-for-stolen-goods/
