More than 200 complaints have been filed with the police amid revelations that hundreds of people were duped while some lost houses after investing in the E-Creator Ponzi scheme.
E-Creator Ponzi Scheme suspected fraudsters have hogged the limelight in recent weeks after allegedly duping scores of people of over one million United States dollars through an online investment scam.
In an exclusive interview with the ZBC News this Tuesday, ZRP National Spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi revealed that there are fears that some people may have been left homeless after selling houses and residential stands to invest in the E-Creator Ponzi Scheme.
“Reports in relation to E-Creator Ponzi scam are still coming and we have received more than 200 reports as of yesterday. The reports are coming from as far as Chipinge, Masvingo, Gweru and Harare. But there are many people who are not coming to report because they are shunning to be seen by the public, but they must come forward to allow due processes to be done. Certainly the US$1 million figure can be more than that,” he said.
Economist, Dr Lovemore Gomera and information technology expert, Dr Munyaradzi Gwatidzo have cautioned the public against investing in Ponzi schemes.
Dr Gomera noted, “It’s unfortunate that people have lost money to the Ponzi scheme. This is not the first time, but my take is that people should first make due diligence before investment. What we see is that these guys thrive on relationship and trust from other colleagues because if your colleague has invested and comes to you, it means you are bound to invest because you trust him or her. I also think in this case regulators should increase scrutiny in terms of these companies. Lastly, my advice to the citizenry is that take the formal way to prevent such cases.”
“There has to be an awareness which people are given advice of ways of investment. I also believe that when such things are happening, there is a huge appetite of people who want to invest so there is need to verify if the company is legit,” noted Dr Gwatidzo.
Another suspect Emmanuel Chikweza appeared in court on Saturday facing allegations of duping unsuspecting investors of US$80 000 after promising the complainant hefty monthly profits.
It, however, remains a mystery how Zimbabweans are falling for pyramid schemes even though thousands of people lost their fortune to pyramid schemes in the 1990s while a combined 10 000 others are still counting their losses after being duped in 2021.
Meanwhile, E-Creator prime suspects; Zhao Jiatong, Trymore Tapfumanei and Justin Kuchekenya have been further remanded in custody to Thursday for bail ruling.-ZBC News