Affinity affront

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟯 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯. He was a model citizen in the farming community of Barkly East in the Eastern Cape. A God-fearing commercial farmer with a loyal circle of friends. He was wealthy, too, by all accounts and promised similar riches for some of his closest friends and several others from a lucrative investment project. It was a simple blueprint: his investors would buy cattle and sheep and he would farm them on their behalf. Leaning on their shared religious devotion, his investment base grew impressively and his scheme blossomed into a multi-million rand operation. Then, as they so often do, things turned sour and what appeared a legitimate and profitable business imploded. The investors, the majority of whom are pensioners, lost everything. Carte Blanche investigates. Your favourite episodes are now available on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟱 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮. A story about the lure of celebrity and the deceptive façade of success… Loyal listeners to a national radio station responded to an advert promising huge returns in a cryptocurrency scheme. The man at the helm, a beloved drive-time radio host, and his millionaire business partner won the trust of several wishful investors. Wholly untrained in personal finance management or the pitfalls of digital trading, several investors left their jobs, cashed in their pensions and savings policies, and even took out bank loans to invest in the glittering scheme. But for at least 140 people the man they trusted to guide them through the crypto maze appears to have been little more than a confidence trickster. Carte Blanche investigates how hundreds of thousands of rands have vanished, along with the guy who promised to triple investments.

In March 2023, we investigated a Swedish businessman and self-styled philanthropist who’d made sweeping promises to an impoverished community in the Limpopo town of Alldays. We uncovered how he’d failed to keep those promises, failing the area’s children and becoming embroiled in a dispute in which the local municipality appeared reluctant to intervene. It was an outcome for which the children and their desperate carers were paying the ultimate price. But happily, things have changed as the businessman has fled the country, and the children in need were finally given access to this life-changing centre. Your favourite episodes are now available on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟮 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯. Earlier this month, Carte Blanche investigated a multi-million rand Ponzi scheme that involved purchasing luxury vehicles without ever paying a loan instalment. The wheels eventually came off in spectacular fashion. Then, days after our broadcast, viewers sent us stories of how they had fallen victim to a more complex but similar scam. We investigate an intricate “ride to own” scheme which had some motorists owning multiple vehicles that they weren’t paying for and never took possession of. Now, the banks are owed more than R500 million and numerous vehicles have gone missing – stripped and resold for parts by a shady dealership. The Hawks are investigating but for the so-called victims, it’s time to pay up. Your favourite episodes are now available on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv