Rich man, ‘poor investors’

SMOKE AND MIRRORS: GLAMOROUS PRINCE MAZIBUKO UP FOR LITANY OF CHARGES

Alleged to have conned more than 40 investors out of R735 000.

Prince Mazibuko, 28, looks like any other wealthy up-and-coming young man: flashy cars, flashy suits, expensive watch ... butter would not melt in his mouth, he is so good.

Someone you can trust with your investments, right?

Well, maybe not. According to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation in KwaZulu-Natal, he will appear in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court on 26 February on 194 charges of fraud, theft and contravention of the Banks Act, Financial Institutions Act and the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act.

He allegedly conned more than 40 people out of R735 000 through his forex company, Born Rich Group, since May 2015, promising returns of 80% to 400%.

Who is Mazibuko?

According to Move! magazine in an interview in 2015, “poverty motivated him to succeed”. He grew up poor with his granny in Nseleni township on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal.

His granny died when he was in Grade 10 and he moved in with an unemployed uncle until he finished matric in 2009.

He told the magazine: “People may think that it was an easy road for me... I had to sell sweets and snacks at school in order not to go to bed on an empty stomach.”

After matric, a friend from a well-off family taught him how to trade on the stock market and from their first trade, they made nearly R5 000 in about an hour.

His friend allowed him to trade on his behalf.

“If someone gives you money to trade on their behalf, it is not that they don’t know how to trade, but they are usually too busy to trade.

“People become greedy and start using other people’s money, and fail to give them their profits.

“That is why we changed strategy and started teaching people how to trade,” Mazibuko said.

A “God-fearing person”, the website for Born Rich Group is not working any more, but Mazibuko is active on social media and on 2 February, posted on Facebook: “If you have a minimum of R1 500 to invest, there’s an opportunity for you to make another R1 500 onceoff in a month...”

Mazibuko refused to comment.