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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 Gaaark on Thursday July 18 2019, @03:21AM
Yeah: it sounds like maybe he just took all the money invested and ran, instead of going through the motions of keeping the initial investors happy?
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---