THE FUSE

By Dylan Bettencourt

Scheme operator Nico le Roux promised investors up to 30% returns but never bought or sold property with their money.

Albie Morkel invested R350,000 in IPG Properties and got back R3.6-million. Liquidators say he must now repay the R3.3-million difference.

Former Proteas cricketer Albie Morkel could be forced to repay R3.3-million after liquidators took him to court over money he received from a Ponzi scheme.

Morkel invested R350,000 in IPG Properties, a fake property company, and received R3.6-million back. Liquidators say he must repay the R3.3-million difference.

Nico le Roux ran the scheme, telling investors their money would go into property deals. No property was ever bought or sold. Le Roux used money from new investors to pay older ones.

Around 170 people put about R74-million into the scheme. Le Roux found many investors at church camps run by his nonprofit, Sonship Camps and Conferences, and used WhatsApp groups to recruit more. He promised returns of up to 30% in the first three months.

IPG Properties has since been liquidated. Insolvency attorney Mathys Krog sent Morkel two letters of demand on 9 February, giving him three days to pay. Krog warned that legal action would follow if the money was not repaid. Morkel did not pay, CityPress reported.

The high court in Pretoria last week gave permission for a summons to be served on Morkel electronically. Once served, Morkel has 10 days to say he will defend the case, then 20 days to file his legal response. If he does nothing, liquidators can apply for a default judgment and attach his assets.

Morkel is expected to defend the claim.

Le Roux was previously convicted of fraud. In May 2004, a magistrate’s court in Vereeniging found him guilty on five counts. He was fined R10,000 or faced five years in prison, suspended for three years. Both Le Roux and his wife Anna have been sequestrated.

Pictured above: Albie Morkel.

Image source: @ProteasMenCSA