Three more arrests are expected to be made in connection with the alleged MedBond Insurance Administrators ponzi scheme.
This is according to private investigator Sean Pierce.
His comments come in the wake of one of the scheme’s directors, Jaco Van Heerden, from Ballito, appearing in court this week.
He was granted R75 000 bail in the lead up to his R2 million fraud trial in the Umhlali court.
Van Heerden was arrested and charged on October 16, in connection with an allegation of fraud made by his friend Pierre Scheepers and has since appeared in court four times.
ALSO READ | Dinner and night at Sun City for R25 is a scam
Van Heerden, by way of his bail application affidavit, has strenuously denied all allegations of fraud and indicated his intent to plead not guilty to the charges.
The case revolves around an investment allegedly made by Scheepers in May this year after an opportunity was discussed with Van Heerden.
The investment was made with an associated company, MedBond FX.
Pierce told The Witness that there were about 11 cases totalling more than R100 million against MedBond.
The modus operandi of MedBond was to take as much as possible from people. We have 11 cases already reported to us and we are expecting more victims to come forward. We are working on finalising the arrests of the three other directors of the company soon.
According to The North Coast Courier, the victim of the fraud Van Heerden was arrested for, Scheepers, has never received his initial money back, nor has he received any of the promised profit.
“He later put in a withdrawal order, but was told to wait 30 more days, after which he opened a case of fraud at Umhlali Police Station on August 18. In the state’s bail opposition statement, the court heard that Scheepers’ money had not been invested, but was transferred to multiple different accounts upon receipt.”
Within 24 hours, the account balance was just R28 659.
ALSO READ | Scammers abound this festive season
Van Heerden’s bail conditions are that he will need to report to a police station three times a week. He must also surrender his passport. He will return to court on February 29.
Pierce urged more victims to come forward.
“We request that people with more information or who had been defrauded by MedBond to contact Coast to Coast Special Investigators on 082 510 6516.”