A KwaZulu-Natal businessman who was found guilty of duping people of about R7 million has avoided jail term.
Recently, Jan Hendrik van Zyl was convicted in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court for the crimes he committed between 2009 and 2014, around Durban.
According to Hawks spokesperson, Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo, the court heard Van Zyl, who is the owner of a company named QPT Trading, had told victims that he was investing their cash in Forex Trading and promised a 5% return per month.
The company was based in Newcastle and had several branches in Amanzimtoti and Ballito.
“The contracts were signed and he then paid out few monthly returns and abruptly discontinued paying,” said Mhlongo.
“The matter was reported to the police and the case docket was allocated to Hawks members from Durban Serious Commercial Crime to investigate.”
“As a result almost R 4.5 million was recovered and paid back to the investors.”
Van Zyl was handed 10 years jail term, with a suspension for 5 years, on condition he was not found guilty of the same offence during his suspension period.
In addition, the court ordered Van Zyl to repay the outstanding amount of R2.4 million bit by bit of R40,000 monthly through the clerk of the court.
Moreover, the court also ordered him to be involved in community service.
