Some Springbok rugby players may be stuck in court because of their involvement with Crowd1 should this entity be found to be a pyramid or multiplication scheme.
According to a statement from the National Consumer Commission (NVC) on Crowd1 issued on Friday, it is a criminal offense to be involved in such types of schemes, marketing them or recruiting people for them.
A multiplication scheme is when someone offers an investor, participant or person an annual interest rate that is at least 20% above the repo rate.
Roommate reports that Springbok rugby players Eben Etzebeth and Duane Vermeulen, who invested in Crowd1, have meanwhile distanced themselves from the scheme.
Jacques Potgieter maintained on Friday that Crowd1 is not a pyramid scheme
“The media writes any lot of sh * t that sells,” Potgieter added.
Crowd1, which calls itself a cross-border marketing firm, is suspicious because most people don’t understand the “innovative” business model, says Potgieter.
“It’s like Facebook before it blew up. At the time, people didn’t understand it either, but look now. How many times a day do people go on Facebook today? ” he says.
“The media is not doing their homework properly – it hurts me f ******.”
Magnus Heystek, an investment advisor who has been researching pyramid schemes for 30 years and doing his own research on Crowd1, says this scheme was “smartly done”.
“They fool people with the kind of words they use and the money people can make looks very tempting. They play on people’s fears that they might miss something big, ”says Heystek.
“But in the end, they use the same ideas and phrases as many other pyramid schemes over the years. Crowd1 members say they sell educational products, but so far I have not been able to determine exactly what they are selling. ”
According to the NPA, he is currently conducting a preliminary investigation to determine whether there are grounds for a full-scale investigation into Crowd1.
“Covid-19 caused economic disruption and consumers tried to make extra money, but the law prohibits people from being involved in any illegal scheme,” the statement says.
NCAA spokesperson Phetho Ntaba says people who unknowingly participate in a pyramid scheme or multiplication scheme may also violate the law and be punished, depending on what an investigation finds.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) also referred Crowd1 to the Reserve Bank for investigation. Earlier this week, the FSCA warned people against Crowd1 because Crowd1 was not registered with him.
The Bank of Namibia banned Crowd1 in this country in February.
