More than 150 people who had lost millions of rand in an investment scheme, have now also lost the chance to see their deceiver pay for his misdeeds.
Jaco Jordaan, a businessman from Heidelberg who was about to go on trial for fraud of more than R100 million, died of a heart attack on April 5.
His trial is set to begin in the Middelburg Commercial Crimes Court on May 16.
Capt Kolobe, the investigating officer from the Hawk’s Commercial Crime’s Unit, confirmed that Jordaan is indeed dead, because the many of the victims believed it to be another of Jordaan’s tricks to avoid justice and to skip the country.
“I was one of the doubters,” admitted Willie van Niekerk, a pensioner from Kriel.
“Jordaan was so convincing. I allowed that criminal in my house and listened to his stories.”
He invested R1,5m in 2015 into Jordaan’s investment scheme, Stocktraders SA, that offered a monthly return of 4,7% on investments.
For a while, investors received payouts of between 7% and 8% until everything dried up by the end of 2017.
Most of the investors are residents of Kriel, Middelburg and Secunda who were either pensioners, soon to be retired or people who received disability pension pay-outs.
The Kriel and Secunda Police arrested the 52-year-old owner of Access Properties in Heidelberg at the Germiston Police Station on February 26, 2018, where he was in custody for another fraud case which was being investigated by the Hawks in Gauteng.
Jordaan first appeared in the Secunda Magistrate’s Court from where he was eventually released on bail.
The case was then transferred tot the Evander Regional Court and was eventually set for trial in Middelburg. Most of the victims united as a group with lawyer Louwrens Grundlingh to represent them in an attempt to get their money back.
Jordaan’s assets that have been attached and sold on public auction, included a boat, sports cars and properties. His estate agency was liquidated.
With Jordaan dead, the victims hope that his estate will bring more assets to light. This will apparently be discussed at the trial.
“I don’t think there is anymore money, ” said Van Niekerk.
He said there are many other victims who have lost everything and are worse off than him.
One such a person is Paul Swart.
He invested R2,7m with Jordaan.
“I heard about the Stocktraders SA from a colleague on the mine who received a large payout every month.
“I was weary at first, but was eventually convinced to invest payout had received from the mine after I was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident and could not work anymore.”
Swart blames the death of his wife on Jordaan.
“I even had to stop our medical aid because we could not afford the payments. The stress of losing everything, became too much for Hester and she had a stroke.
“He ended up in a government hospital and did not receive the treatment she needed in time.”
Swart said they had to scrape by on the bare minimum.
“At least I could hold on to the house after my wife’s death.”
According to Swart, several of Jordaan’s victims have lost their homes and even their vehicles.
“I know of a couple who were well off, but are now depending on lifts from others.”
Swart has returned to the employment sector and has left for a work contract in India last week.
