The pull of a Ponzi scheme

INVESTORS LOSE: BROADER STRATEGY ESTIMATED TO HAVE ATTRACTED BETWEEN R50-R500M

- Hein Kaiser

One of South Africa's largest Ponzi and advance fee scams has seen victims lose millions.

An ongoing investigation discovered that a group of con men reinvented themselves, opened shops to launder cash and shuffled bank accounts around to move cash.

All this because they managed to persuade people that their money, savings in effect, was about to unlock life-changing returns. All they had to do was invest. It's classic Ponzi.

The broader scheme is estimated to have attracted between R50 million and R500 million from gullible investors over its lifespan, affecting hundreds of victims.

Multiple charges have been laid and the Hawks are presently investigating allegations of fraud and money laundering.

Alleged kingpin Walterman Beling, also known as Gert Moolman and later Gert de Kock, allegedly netted and gambled away millions of rands that he skimmed from people.

In Mossel Bay, where he was based, Beling presented himself as a businessman, opening outlets such as Protein Palace and Vetkoek, Biltong & Braai.

These were all apparent fronts to launder the cash he made from an advance fee fraud scam that he is accused of masterminding.

Beling sold investors the promise of huge returns as their money would fund some or other court case against the state, one apparently worth a trillion rand.

In return, they were promised enormous payouts once the legal action succeeded. The case was pure fiction.