Birthday ends in jail sentence for stokvel fraudster Caleb Ntuli
Image: 123RF/LEONARD ZHUKOVSKY
The man behind the Tshwaranang Stokvel, an investment scheme infamous for promising eastern Free State investors up to 50% interest within 30 days, has been convicted and sentenced for fraud and money-laundering.
Caleb Ntuli, 41, was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment, Hawks spokesperson Lt-Col Zweli Mohobeleli said. He was also fined R1.7m, suspended for five years.
Ntuli was sentenced in the Bethlehem commercial crimes court on Thursday, his birthday.
More than 250 people invested in the Tshwaranang Stokvel between 2016 and 2019, Mohobeleli said.
Investors cried foul when there were no dividends and Ntuli was nowhere to be found.
The Hawks' serious commercial crime investigation team in Bethlehem traced Ntuli to Palm Ridge in Gauteng, where he was arrested on September 17.
About R8m was lost by investors.
Free State Hawks head Maj-Gen Mokgadi Bokaba commended investigators for their commitment to solving a complex crime.
“Get-rich-quick schemes almost always have the same outcome. The promise of a return on investment is usually too good to be true and must not be believed,” she said.
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