FSCA warns the public of potential pyramid scheme

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The FSCA has warned the public to be cautious when conducting financial services business with Ever Grow Matrix (Pty) Ltd and Bongumusa Nkabinde, who may be operating under the alias BossFx.

The Authority said in a statement it received information that Ever Grow invites members of the public to invest R300 in its scheme. When an investor joins, they are obliged to recruit and introduce two new members to the scheme to progress. “The activities of Ever Grow appear to have the characteristics of a pyramid scheme.”

Ever Grow has also instructed members of the public to deposit their funds into the bank account of SAMMAG (Pty) Ltd. The chief executive of Ever Grow is a director of SAMMAG. Ever Grow and SAMMAG were unavailable for comment, the FSCA said.

“The FSCA would like to reiterate that pyramid schemes are illegal and deems it necessary in the interest of the public to issue this warning.”

The Authority has referred the matter to other agencies with a mandate to deal with pyramid schemes.

BossFX

It has come to the FSCA’s attention that Nkabinde or BossFx offered to trade in forex on behalf of members of the public. “It is noteworthy and of concern that Nkabinde or BossFx promise unrealistic returns,” the Authority said in a separate statement.

“Without commenting on the business of Nkabinde and/or BossFx or its products and services, the FSCA points out that for an entity to offer financial products or services in South Africa, it must be licensed to do so by the FSCA and in some instances also by the Prudential Authority (PA). The FSCA can confirm that Nkabinde and/or BossFx are not licensed or registered under any legislation administered by the FSCA or the PA,” the statement said.

“The FSCA deems it in the interest of the public to issue a warning following a complaint received from a member of the public who was unable to recover his profits from Nkabinde and/or BossFx. Nkabinde and/or BossFx were unavailable for comment.”

Check before you invest

The FSCA says members of the public should always check the following:

  • That an entity or individual is authorised by the FSCA to provide financial products and services, including for providing recommendations about how to invest.
  • The category of advice the person is registered to provide, as there are instances where companies or people are registered to provide basic advice for a low-risk product but advice on far more complex and risky products.
  • That the FSP number used by the entity or individual offering financial services matches the name of the FSP on the FSCA’s database.

You can check whether an entity or person is authorised to provide financial products and services by: