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Angry mob burns down home of suspected Bitcoin swindler:
A man thought to have been behind an alleged Bitcoin Ponzi scheme has had his house looted and burned to the ground in South Africa, reports Times Live. Sphelele "Sgumza" Mbatha was reportedly the operator of "Bitcoin Wallets," a scheme which promised investors a 100 percent return on their investment after 15 days.
The arson came a week after Mbatha admitted to the Ladysmith Gazettethat he didn't have any more cash to pay out, and said that investors would need to submit their details online to receive their payouts. He also claimed to not be the owner of the company, despite having registered the business "Bitcoin Wallets Achievers" the previous week. The following week he then said that hackers had infiltrated the website and had stolen investor's money, according to Times Live.
Mbatha's whereabouts are currently unknown
The arson came after angry crowds had previously gathered outside Bitcoin Wallets' headquarters as well as the local police station. Mbatha was reportedly offered assistance by the authorities to relocate the company on the condition that he provided a business plan to prove it was legitimate. However, the documents had not been produced as of last week. A spokesperson from South Africa's National Credit Regulator had previously raised doubts about the company's official documentation.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday July 18 2019, @12:31AM (8 children)
When the villagers bring out the torches and pitchforks, you know you've screwed the pooch.
Yeah, rule of law, and all of that. Mob justice is seldom really justice. But, it would be nice to see more of this. Some of it should be given to the infamous 1% as well, not just some small time crooks who merely steal a few hundred million.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday July 18 2019, @02:08AM
The story above this one is about the people who got wealthy getting ordinary Americans hooked on opiates.
Burning a few of their mansions down might be a start.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 18 2019, @02:29AM (1 child)
Or, in the case of South Africa, the tires and gasoline.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 18 2019, @08:19AM
The blow torch, the shotgun, the axe.
How dare whitey's own land that belongs to black people!
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday July 18 2019, @12:45PM
The scammer took the solution of not being there to deal with it. That's yet another problem with mob justice.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday July 18 2019, @06:16PM (3 children)
That sure doesn't sound like the unequivocal rejection of all forms of violence you were demanding from me yesterday.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday July 18 2019, @06:43PM (1 child)
I demanded nothing of you. I wanted your honest answer condemning leftist violence, just as you're ready to condemn non-leftist violence. Like many others, you're willing to excuse violence from people you approve of, and unwilling to excuse violence from people you disapprove of.
I disapprove of people who exploit and defraud other people - and that includes a large portion of the infamous 1%.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday July 18 2019, @07:00PM
You're projecting again. That's what YOU just did in the above post.
I have never excused violence. I WILL point out false equivalency when you post it, though.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 18 2019, @06:47PM
Violence is only bad if leftists do it, obviously.