Investors Sue CEO for $17 Million Fake Crypto

Financiers in a suspected $17 million cryptocurrency fraud are filing a proceeding in the court named Port Elizabeth High against the VaultAge Solutions CEO.

Investors in the digital currency company of South Africa VaultAge Solutions are intending to sue the fraudulent company's head, Willie Breedt, on charges of defrauding 2,000 depositors out of about $17 million.

Breedt runs for the border

On June 1, it was announced thatBreedt is supposed to have escaped to Mozambique from South Africa in December last year. The Department of South African interior specified that he has not returned ever since.

After flying to Mozambique, he reportedly cut off all contact with his financiers, except for one email in which He tried to assure them that their assets were safe and that they would be refunded. Local news broadcast outlet News24 asserts that Breedt specified that payments should start by 30 May.

After receiving no response, depositors are currently referring to lawyers to continue the case against the CEO. This week, they plan to file an urgent claim in the High Court of Port Elizabeth. One of the investors Annette Veldsman stated:

"We are aiming to get a statement asking for help from the law court earlier than the High court at the end of this week."

Breedt left behind in a blank Bank account

The South African authority of priority crime exploration, also identified as the Hawks, is also scrutinizing an unlawful case against an indicted fraudster who supposedly forged official papers confirming reimbursement documents.

Although Breedt himself did not answer any questions concerning his location or connected to payments, the research revealed that CEO’s Bank account, which previously detained 3.15 million euros, is now empty.

Local police are inspecting  CEO for the scheme

VaultAge Solutions began its activity in 2018 to offer refunds on a weekly basis on client deposits via hashing and trading cryptocurrencies and accommodate deposits of $ 50 or over.

In early May, local news specified that the South African priority crime investigations office, the Hawks, had started exploring the company and its creator for fraud.

The inquiry was conducted after several cases where financiers sued VaultAge, and they claimed to have earned only 1% of the projected profit after documents’ submission confirming payment, or else no refunds at all.

Seniors and physicians are amid Breedt’s victims

Matimba Maluleke, captain and representative of Hawks, said the police division had gotten written statements from many depositors and the VaultAge Solutions manager, who operated together with Breedt.

It is supposed that many depositors invested equivalent to hundreds of thousands of USD, as well as a health specialist from Pretoria. Senior citizens are also victims of this scheme. Krugersdorp member  Letty Engelbrecht  Says :

"We are retired and have put in 200,000 Rand [approximately us $ 11,500]. Starting December to April, we got payments to increase our savings. We've never had any money since. We now live on a tight budget and we are desperate."

The suspect avoids mentioning the location

Breedt published an announcement claiming that he was engaged in fulfilling other obligations, adding, "All preliminary funds [will] be returned by 31 May." The indicted fraudster did not answer questions about his location.

It seems that Breedt has not completed any payments since the report was published, and allegedly has long-standing repayment promises.

Hawks Colonel Katlego Mogale said that the incident was still under investigation, and the Department "cannot disclose any evidence at this point."

As previously reported, 2020 is on track to become a record year for crypto criminals, who have already stolen about $1.4 billion in the first five months of the year alone. Researchers from CipherTrace warn investors that the majority of crypto crimes so far have been caused by fraud and misappropriation, which accounted for 98% of all stolen funds this year, rather than being exchanged by hackers.