Eastern Cape Police have questioned eight people after discovering an investment scam in Grahamstown which used Oprah Winfrey’s name to target hundreds of people.
Captain Mali Govender said on Friday people were told: ”You pay R10 and [US talk-show queen] Oprah Winfrey is going to pay you R1 200 a month for 10 years”.
A case of fraud was opened after police found a group working from the Recreation Hall in Albany Road who were allegedly offering clients unrealistically high returns for a low payment.
The small print on the contract however meant those who signed up would end up paying instead.
Mali said three women and five men were taken in for questioning and released. No arrests have been made.
Constable Natasha Daniels, who was on duty at the Grahamstown police station on Thursday, started investigating when residents boasted they were going to receive R1 200 a month by making a once-off payment of R10.
Daniels and Captain Llewellyn Moss went to the hall and were met by more than 500 people who were completing ”application forms”, said Govender.
”This process is believed to have started earlier this week. By word of mouth the community were informed of this easy way of making money.”
Grahamstown newspaper Grocott’s Mail reported that when police arrived at the hall and tried to warn those desperate for Winfrey’s money that it was a scam, many people shouted at them and tried to stop them from intervening.
Mali said police confiscated 160 applications and nearly R2 000.
The money was handed back to the applicants.
Copies of the contract said a membership fee of R500 a year for 10 years was payable, not R10 as claimed. ”There is no mention of R1 200 a month in the contract.”
There is no mention of Winfrey in the contract or any benefit to the applicants.
The contract identifies the organisation as the Sebenza Women’s Empowerment Co-opperative, based in Lamontville, KwaZulu-Natal. Those who signed up were asked for their bank details and the ”requirements for the improvements of the applicant’s life”.
Those questioned are believed to be from the Uitenhage area, where the same scam was reported to have been tried recently. – Sapa