KWAZULU-NATAL – The Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court has convicted and sentenced Jan Hendrik Van Zyl (59) for fraud by means of misrepresentation.
The crime was committed around Durban between 2009 and 2014.
The accused, Jan Hendrik Van Zyl also known as Henk owns a company called QPT Trading which is based in Newcastle with branches in Amanzimtoti and Ballito. The court heard that he informed the victims that he is investing their cash in Forex Trading and promised them a 5% return of per month.
The contracts were signed and he then paid out few monthly returns and abruptly discontinued paying. The matter was reported to the police and the case docket was allocated to Hawks members from Durban Serious Commercial Crime to investigate. As a result almost R 4.5 million was recovered and paid back to the investors.
On 06 October 2020, Van Zyl was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment wholly suspended for 5 years on condition that he is not found guilty of the same offense during the period of suspension.
Furthermore, Van Zyl will pay back the outstanding amount of R2.4 million in instalments of R 40 000.00 on monthly basis through the clerk of the court. He is further sentenced to perform community services.
