A Lansdowne couple says they lost R60 000 of their hard-earned savings in a bogus investment scheme run by a Durban businessman.
Fadeelah and Rezah Mustapha say they invested their life savings into a scheme called “35k”, which was managed by Kristie Govender.
The couple says they wanted to make their money work for them and a friend directed them to the now deactivated 35k Facebook page.
“I got the details from the Facebook page and contacted Kristie on 9 January this year, and asked him about the investment,” Fadeelah explains.
“He said he works for the Forex stock exchange and if interested he would send me all documentation.
“He stated the contract had not been amended to 2019 and we could just scratch it out.
“He said we would be investing in metals.”
EVIDENCE: Proof of an electronic fund transfer. Photo: Supplied
After signing the contract, Fadeelah invested R50 000 and Rezah R10 000.
According to the contract on 11 January, Fadeelah would receive dividends of R37 000, and Rezah R8 750, on 11 February.
“But two weeks before payout, the friend who referred us said he had not yet received his payout.
CONTRACT: Photo: Supplied
“I called Kristie and he said he was having problems with payouts as his business was being investigated by SARS after someone used his business’ name for fraud,” Fadeelah says.
“We then decided to pull out as the contract does state we can do so. Kristie asked me to give him a day to cancel the contract and we would get our R60 000 plus the dividend due to us on 16 February,” she says.
The angry woman says Kristie stopped taking their calls, but eventually responded to emails, in which he said: “I sincerely apologise for the inconvenience please allow me the opportunity till Monday 18th (February) midday to arrange refund for both you and your husband.
“I had a few investors threaten the lives of my family and had to prioritise their refunds. I will ensure that the refunds are transferred into your account.”
But Fadeelah says nothing came of this promise either and she tracked down Kristie’s wife, Mogie, on Facebook, “who spun us a story straight from a movie scene”.
She says: “I told her I’m looking for Kristie and looking for my money. Mogie told me he had a gas accident. They were going to refill their gas cylinder because of load shedding.
VICTIMS: Fadeelah and Rezah Mustapha ‘conned’ of R60k. Photo: Supplied
“The one cylinder apparently exploded into the front part of his brain.
“She said he inhaled all the gas and had a blackout and now has memory loss and ‘remembers nothing after 2010’.
“He apparently doesn’t even remember her or their daughter.
“This happened conveniently on the day he had to pay me.”
The couple says they just want their money back and have opened a case.
The Daily Voice tried contacting the Govenders on the numbers provided.
Police spokesperson, Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana, confirmed: “Please be advised that a theft case was opened for investigation on 11 February. No one has been arrested so far.”