Willie Breedt, a South African accused of stealing seven-figures from native traders by way of his VaultAge Options scheme, is believed to have fle
Willie Breedt, a South African accused of stealing seven-figures from native traders by way of his VaultAge Options scheme, is believed to have fled the nation for Mozambique.
The story was reported by Information24 on Could 29, citing a consultant of the South African Division of Residence Affairs who indicated that he has not returned to the nation since leaving for Mozambique on December 21.
Regardless of allegedly attracting over 2,000 traders, VaultAge Options was not registered with South Africa’s Monetary Companies Conduct Authority.
Native police examine Breedt for fraud
VaultAge Options was based in 2018, purporting to supply weekly returns on buyer deposits by way of cryptocurrency mining and buying and selling and accepting deposits from $50.
In the beginning of Could, native stories indicated that South Africa’s Directorate for Precedence Crime Investigation, often known as “the Hawks,” had begun investigating the agency and its founder for fraud.
The investigation adopted a number of cases of traders taking authorized motion towards VaultAge who claimed to have obtained only one% of anticipated returns after being offered doctored proof-of-payment documentation, or no returns in any respect.
Pensioners and docs amongst Breedt’s victims
Hawks spokesperson Captain Matimba Maluleke acknowledged that the police unit had obtained affidavits from quite a few traders and a VaultAge Options administrator who had labored intently with Breedt.
Many traders are believed to have made investments equal to lots of of hundreds of U.S. {dollars}, together with a physician from Pretoria. Pensioners are additionally among the many scheme’s victims, with Lettie Engelbrecht of Krugersdorp stating:
“We’re pensioners and invested 200,000 rand [roughly $11,500]. From December till April, we obtained funds on the expansion of our funding. Since then, we by no means obtained any cash. We’re determined and dwelling on a shoestring finances.”
Breedt avoids commenting on whereabouts
Breedt issued a press release to Information24 claiming to be busy attending to different commitments, including that “all of the preliminary capital [will be] paid again by 31 Could.” The accused scammer didn’t deal with questions regarding his whereabouts.
Breedt seems to not have made any repayments since issuing the assertion, and reportedly has a historical past of constructing hole guarantees of compensation.
The Hawks’ Colonel Katlego Mogale indicated that the case remains to be below investigation, including that the division “can not reveal any data at this stage.”