Coming up on Speak Out 2 this week - on Wednesday, 4 February 2009 at 21h30 on SABC2 - an investigation into a pyramid scheme called Lezmin Textiles: ...
Miracle 2000 it was called. From as little as R1000 you could triple your money to R3000 in just three weeks. The more money you invested the more you would get out. An exciting twist to it was that if you bring more people into the scheme then you get a bonus on your investment.
Multitudes of people invested in this revolutionary scheme, hoping to get rich. Some people did make money, but as in the law of nature, nothing that is hidden remains hidden.
The scheme was uncovered and shut down. This was 8 years ago. Today history repeats itself over and over again with new schemes being created such as Lezmin Textiles. Lezmin Textiles is the name under Speak Out's eye this week.
Masterminded by a slick, softly spoken woman known as Josephine, it has been masqueraded as a clothing shop. This scheme operates in the heart of Rustenburg in an unsuspecting township of Tlhabane.
Josephine has managed to recruit masses of people ranging from as far afield as Lesotho. They invest from a minimum of R400 and their monies - as with Miracle 2000 - increases after a couple of weeks. The members are issued certificates that describe them as board managers. The certificate states the amount each member invested as well as the returns to be paid out on a specific dates.
This has been the agreement with the board members but things have hit a tragic turn. Instead of the members getting their returns they have now been convinced into buying products from Lezmin textiles before they can get their monies back.
Added to this, is a contract which some people signed. The contract states that Lezmin can change the terms stated at their own discretion and that investors give the company authority to use the funds for purchasing of investment goods. Speak Out investigates the scheme.
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