The Dundee-based De Beer family trio — Malcolm and Patricia (husband and wife) and their daughter Samantha — will be back in the High Court on May 28  on charges of fraud linked to the failed Coin-It investment scheme, which allegedly defrauded investors of R73.6 million.

The matter had been postponed to allow the accused time to obtain certain documents, confirmed National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara.

The De Beers are accused of running Coin-It, an unregistered investment operation that promised returns by giving investors a stake in trucks supposedly working on mining contracts. The scheme later collapsed, leaving hundreds of investors out of pocket.

“In terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act and the Banks Act, Coin-It was not authorised to accept deposits from investors,” said Ramkisson-Kara. “The state alleges that the entity was not registered as a financial services provider and operated without the required licences.”

All three accused remain out on R50,000 bail each. Malcolm and Patricia De Beer have also surrendered their passports as part of their bail conditions.

Several properties and properties have already been seized by the Asset Forfeiture Unit, AFU, in terms of a Preservation Order granted by the  Pietermaritzburg High Court in 2020. These include the Royal Country Inn (now student accommodation) and other properties, one of which, in the Dundee industrial area, is to be auctioned this month.

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