The Commercial Crimes Court in Cape Town has sentenced Andrew Paul Futcher (62), who was jailed in 2004 for running a pyramid-type scheme, to an effective 15 years’ imprisonment for running a similar scheme in which investors lost more than R26 million, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on 4 June 2026.
According to the NPA, the latest sentence followed Futcher’s conviction on multiple counts, including theft, money laundering, forgery, uttering, and contraventions of the Banks Act and the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act.
Futcher was found guilty in late April 2026, with the matter postponed to 2 June for sentencing.
The NPA said the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Futcher operated a sophisticated Ponzi scheme through Ablaze Trading CC, where he solicited and accepted money from members of the public under the false pretence that their funds would be invested in stock-market trading.
He entered written agreements with investors, promising returns of at least 10% a month, significantly above prevailing market rates, while “guaranteeing” the return of their capital. Some investors were promised returns as high as 30% a month.
The Court heard that the scheme created the impression of a legitimate investment and financial advisory service. However, Futcher was neither authorised to accept deposits from the public nor licensed to provide financial advisory services.
The State further established that Futcher laundered the proceeds of his fraudulent activities by depositing investors’ money into the bank account of a third party, thereby concealing the source and movement of the money. The funds were mixed with personal funds.
Evidence presented during the trial showed that Futcher failed to make any legitimate investments on behalf of investors. Instead, he used funds received from newer investors to pay returns and capital owed to earlier investors, the hallmark of a Ponzi scheme. Investors suffered losses of about R26.6m.
The scheme collapsed when the flow of new investments declined in 2011. Futcher attempted to delay investors’ demands for repayment by making false promises and issuing internet transfer slips for payments he could not honour.
Previous conviction
The State argued for a sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, submitting that Futcher had shown no genuine prospects of rehabilitation. The defence sought a non-custodial sentence based on Futcher’s age and health.
The State placed Futcher’s previous fraud conviction before the court during sentencing. It also presented evidence that he had continued to target investors even while the present matter was being prosecuted and was allegedly linked to another ongoing investigation involving similar conduct.
In April 2004, the Wynberg Regional Court sentenced Futcher to an effective 10 years’ imprisonment after operating an investment scheme through Money-tech CC and CD Main One Investments (Pty) Ltd, which unlawfully accepted deposits totalling about R23.654m from September 2001.
The sentence followed convictions for fraud and violations of the Banks Act.
According to IOL, the Scorpions-investigated case took the form of a plea-bargain, in which Futcher’s wife, Cecile, was let off the hook, on condition that Futcher’s confession contained no material falsehoods concerning her involvement in the fraud.
“According to plea-bargain papers handed to the court, Futcher’s pyramid scheme was so vast and complex that it would have taken years for the Scorpions to completely unravel,” the IOL report said.
Futcher was sentenced to 12 years in jail, of which two years were conditionally suspended for five.
He was released on parole in July 2007 after serving only three years.
Despite this conviction, Futcher resumed similar criminal activities shortly after his release.
The NPA said Futcher admitted that he used aliases, including “Andrew Flint”, to conceal his identity from potential investors and prevent them from discovering his criminal history online.
The Commercial Crimes Court sentenced Futcher to nine years’ imprisonment for 17 counts of theft involving about R9m, five years’ imprisonment for forgery, five years’ imprisonment for uttering involving R3.8m; four years’ imprisonment for money laundering, 10 years’ imprisonment for contravening the Banks Act, and 10 years’ imprisonment for contravening the FAIS Act.
The Court ordered that the sentences for theft, money laundering, and the statutory offences be served concurrently, resulting in an effective sentence of 10 years. The forgery and uttering sentences were also ordered to run concurrently, resulting in an additional five years. Futcher was therefore sentenced to an effective 15 years’ imprisonment.
