Two of three accused have been convicted in the US in a Ponzi scheme case involving “pastors” running a multimillion-dollar investment scam and pocketing money. Their convictions are turning the heat up on the third accused, who is in South Africa.
A trio of “pastors” operated in top-notch hotels and at religious events in the US, claiming that their investment company was in keeping with “God’s mission” because it equated to personal wealth for churchgoers who signed up with it.
But several investors later lost their money – and some of it was allegedly used on personal private jet trips and to keep the investment company, which US authorities have labelled a $28-million Ponzi-type scheme, going.
Now, two of the “pastors,” Arley Ray Johnson and John Erasmus Frimpong are fraud convicts and jailbirds – Johnson was sentenced six-and-a-half years in prison in the US last month and Frimpong was due to be sentenced at the weekend.
The third “pastor”, Dennis Mbongeni Jali, is from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where US authorities say he previously fled.
With the case against his two co-accused in the US nearly wrapped up, it seems authorities there may start turning their full focus on Jali who…