KEY POINTS
- Mfundo Manci sentenced to 10 years for defrauding investors.
- Manci used investors’ money for personal gain, not investment.
- Over R4.5 million recovered through asset forfeiture after arrest.
Mfundo Manci, 33, was found guilty of cheating consumers by making false promises of large returns on their investments and was given a 10-year prison sentence.
Mfundo Manci sentenced for fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scheme
Manci entered a guilty plea to several charges, including fraud, violations of the Banks Act, the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, and the Prevention of Organised Crime Act. The punishment was delivered Tuesday in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court. A plea and sentence agreement involving Manci and his company, Crypto Mzansi Group (PTY) Ltd., was the basis for the proceedings.
Manci took advantage of the increasing popularity of cryptocurrency investment programs between June 2020 and April 2021, according to Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, a spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Ramkisson-Kara said Manci positioned himself as an online trader and promptly introduced an investment program that promised investors substantial profits and offered both short-term and long-term promotions. By tricking them into thinking they could receive commissions by bringing in new customers, he recruited two women to spread the word about his plan. To provide the impression that his company was legitimate, Manci also opened many bank accounts and registered Crypto Mzansi Group (PTY) Ltd.
Victims received fake returns as Manci used funds for himself
Manci’s plan was a sophisticated swindle that his collaborators were unaware of. A façade of profitability was created by the fact that, despite the fact that certain investors received payments, these were financed by the contributions of other investors.
According to Ramkisson-Kara, Manci misused the money for his personal gain rather than investing it as promised.
As the plan fell apart, Manci was unable to be found. He ceased corresponding with family members and investors while on a business trip to Cape Town.
According to Iol, the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) of the NPA secured a preservation order to freeze Manci’s bank accounts, Ramkisson-Kara said. Following the depletion of his funds, Manci willingly turned himself in to Cape Town police, and his case was moved to Durban.
More than R4.5 million was eventually recovered from Manci as a result of the AFU’s order.
Manci received a sentence of fifteen years in prison, five of which were suspended.
