DURBAN – Following an uncertain future as far as their investments are concerned, angry Bitcoin Wallets clients decided to take the law into their own hands.
Latest news reaching MyCryptoMag is that angry and fed up investors allegedly set alight a home belonging to the family of the owner of an apparent Ponzi scheme in Tsakane township, Ladysmith, in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday following its demise.
According to media reports, the fracas began on Tuesday after manager Sphelele Mbatha revealed on a local radio station (Nqubeko FM) that the Bitcoin Wallets website was allegedly hacked whilst stating that investors’ monies had been paid into fraudulent accounts.
The Independent Media Online reports that hundreds of people flocked to the Ladysmith police station after messages circulated on social media that Mbatha also known as Sgumza had been taken to custody after trying to make a run for it with people’s monies.
However, police said there was no truth that Mbatha had been arrested and the ugly scenes follow Mbatha’s promise that Bitcoin Wallets will pay 100% returns on cash deposits within 15 days.
In addition, Mbatha’s promise comes when Mbatha’s reputation for finer things in life continues to gain momentum.
It is also reported that Mbatha is known for carrying large sums of money and dishing out R100 notes to anyone who gave him a chance on the streets and malls, even throwing lavish parties and paying for other people’s grocery bills.
The allure of easy money had seen more and more hopeful people depositing their money into the investment scheme, with some investing as much as R100,000 in cash or more at a time.
The popularity of Bitcoin Wallet and its hefty payments saw hundreds of people flocking to Ladysmith from all corners of KZN and even beyond, some even sleeping outside the premises to be first in line the following day.
Mbatha had claimed that the deposits made were invested in cryptocurrency Bitcoin and cashed in after some time by simply selling it back to the market at a higher price.
But after claiming on radio that his business website had been hacked, community members and investors started to press panic buttons as they started looking for Mbatha in an aim to get back their initial investments, but Mbatha has been nowhere to be found.
According to a local newspaper, weekend, the Ladysmith Gazette, Mbatha admitted that he doesn’t have any more cash to pay out to clients and that he said he was just a manager, not the owner, of the investment scheme.
It is further reported that the angry mob gathered outside Mbatha’s parental home in Tsakane on Wednesday as some looted the furniture, and proceeded to set the house on fire, with a luxury BMW parked in the garage, but there was at the house at the time and no injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, the local newspaper has it that Mbatha is not arrested as yet and is on the run evading the men in blue whilst his house remains under police watch.
