The victims of an “investment” scam will receive a share of the more than R475 000 held in terms of an order obtained by the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU), the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said yesterday.
The Ant Ranch scheme, operated by the Ant Ranch Breeding Management Company, told people they were buying shares in animals such as geese, cows, donkeys, and pigs on farms in the United States. People who joined the scheme registered online as “ranchers”.
The scam’s modus operandi involved enticing “investors” with the promise of daily dividends based on the size and price of the animal they purportedly purchased.
“Ranchers” deposited money into six bank accounts with different references.
Communication with the perpetrators was limited to WhatsApp messages.
Many “investors” fell victim to the allure of quick profits, reinvesting their returns or not withdrawing their funds because the scheme appeared to be thriving.
According to SimilarWeb, Ant Ranch’s website received more than 200 000 visits in August 2023, and 97.3% of this traffic originated from South Africa.
On 10 October 2023, Ant Ranch abruptly shut down, leaving “investors” unable to access their accounts. Attempts to reach the perpetrators through WhatsApp proved futile, because the numbers had been disconnected.
According to the NPA, an East London resident laid a charge of fraud and theft at the Cambridge police station, stating he had been swindled by Ant Ranch. The complainant initially “invested” small amounts, but the deposits became larger, up to R45 000.
The AFU’s office in East London referred the matter to the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), which investigated the flow of funds.
The investigation found that many complainants, from all over South Africa, had made deposits into various bank accounts linked to Ant Ranch. All these accounts, which were opened by Chinese nationals, were emptied and closed, except for one account, which had R475 000. As a complainant had made one of his deposits into this account, the FIC froze it temporarily, the NPA said.
The AFU obtained a preservation order on 7 November 2023 against the account, which was opened by a Lesotho national whose whereabouts are unknown.
The AFU’s investigator, in collaboration with the investigator from the SAPS Commercial Crimes Unit, then began communicating with the complainants who had deposited money into the account and collecting their affidavits.
Victims had to come forward by 21 February 2023 to be entitled to receive a share of the frozen money, failing which the money would be forfeited to the state.
Of the 82 identified victims, 65 complied with the requirements to enter their appearance at the High Court, the NPA said.
On 21 January this year, the AFU obtained a forfeiture order against the preserved funds. In terms of the order, the R475 000 will be divided proportionally among the 65 victims according to the amounts they lost.
It seems the R475 000 will not go very far towards reimbursing the 65 victims. If the amount were divided equally, each person would receive about R7 307.
The NPA’s statement and a media report suggest that individuals “invested” significant amounts of money in Ant Farm. According to Tabloid Newspapers, a couple in Phoenix in KwaZulu-Natal lost R90 000.
