- Nine suspects are wanted for allegedly defrauding over 5 000 people in Mpumalanga.
- The Hawks say they are accused of going as far as hosting competitions and giving back to the community to increase their legitimacy.
- The Hawks are currently investigating a fraud case.
Nine suspects are wanted by the Hawks after allegedly defrauding more than 5 000 individuals out of millions of rand by running a fake company that had asked people to invest in it.
The suspects are accused of operating a company in Mpumalanga called “Mr Coin” which promised its investors returns of between 80% and 150%.
According to the Hawks, the seven men and two women went as far as going to schools to hand out shoes and creating competitions for people to win prizes.
Hawks spokesperson Dineo Sekgotodi said that from January 2021, the suspects allegedly recruited employees and promised them 10% commission for every new client they signed up.
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“They made some events where people won prizes and they were targeting professionals like nurses, teachers, police officers and more as to make people think they are legitimate,” Sekgotodi said.
They apparently operated from a shopping centre in Elukwatini and also had offices in Carolina, Ermelo and Dondonuld.
The suspects requested that their investors send them cash, and not deposit money into a bank account.
Sekgotodi said the Hawks received a complaint after the victims went to the “Mr Coin” offices and found it closed.
“This so-called investment were divided into three categories: silver, gold and platinum. Silver category’s interest was 80% of the invested amount, gold category’s interest was 100% and the platinum category’s interest was 150%,” Kekgotodi said.
