Trio implicated in serial Ponzi schemes, as thousa...

Trio implicated in serial Ponzi schemes, as thousands lose money to various ventures

· 8 years of collecting cash from the poor

· Same people, same modus operandi- different companies

· Thousands put in money- none benefit

· Unevolved organisations names dropped to give credibility

**A sample from one data bases with list of people who have confirmed paying money to the implicated organisations and not getting any benefits in return**

Oscar J Jeke and Audrey Galawu

Thousands of people who have put money into different schemes run by the same trio under different organisation names are saying that it is a serial Ponzi scheme after they have failed to harvest any of the promised benefits since 2016.

Some disgruntled clients of organisations run by the trio of Tawanda Zeze, Natasha Mutambirwa and Emily Jiri say they have begun to believe that the three are serial fraudsters after realising that they are the same people History Makers, More Than Conquerors Trust and/or Triple THZ.

All three organisations are accused of inviting people to pay for membership in various schemes and not delivering at all.

"I would like to bring to your attention the corrupt activities of a gentleman named Tawanda Zeze. He is the founder of History Makers, More Than Conquerors Trust, and Triple THZ. He works with Natasha Mutambirwa, while Emily Jiri is the face of the organisation. She has been with the organisation from the beginning to give people a false sense of trust.

“The organisation ran several projects, including a food hamper project they started in Epworth. They promised hampers in exchange for a US$5 registration fee, still operating under the name History Makers at the time,” a source told Zim Now.

These reporters went on to investigate the allegations over a two week period and established that trio has operated different organisations in Epworth, Whitecliff, Kuwadzana, Livingstone House and Belvedere, and are currently housed at Joina City.

Documents presented by people who have put in their money into various schemes including receipts from the various organisations show that thousands could have been scammed from the most vulnerable members of society including widows and the elderly.

Zim Now called over 50 random numbers from a database numbering into thousands provided by a former staff member.

All the people reached confirmed putting money into one of the various schemes and not benefitting at all.

"My mother first heard of Tawanda Zeze in Epworth in 2016. They were charging registration fees of up to US$5, promising food hampers under the name History Makers. Tawanda Zeze claimed his mentor was Strive Masiyiwa of Econet Wireless.”

Strive Masiyiwa is known for his philanthropic work which he does through his own Higher Life Foundation. On the foundation’s website there is no record of any projects linking Masiyiwa to the organisations in question.

"My mother joined, and so did my sister. They promised to build houses for people on 2,500m² plots in Harare West—a gated complex with schools, shops, churches, and a business centre. They claimed to work with Leengate and even took people, including my mother and sister, on a site visit. However, when I contacted Leengate some months later to inquire about the housing project, they said they had never worked with More Than Conquerors Trust, although an alleged Leengate representative had shown people stands," one informant told Zim Now.

The Leengate website has no record linking it to any of the organisations named in the alleged serial Ponzi scheme.

The informant produced receipts that the family members paid and said they are happy that the case is getting some publicity after discovering that the trio is still collecting money from other unsuspecting people from their Joina City base.

Sources said the organisation has recruited agents in all provinces of Zimbabwe and these target ordinary citizens, farmers, miners, police officers, engineers, teachers, vendors, members of the army, pastors, war veterans, and home seekers.

“Please publicise this information and stop these people from giving false hope to the poor while their pockets are being emptied,” one of those who have paid and got nothing,” said the source.

The Schemes:

Business Capital

People in Whitecliff and Kuwadzana paid US$20 each to register for capital to start their own business ventures. Benefits included US$5000 start-up capital, equipment, machinery, offices, land for farming, factories, and schools.

After paying registration fees, participants were required to pay for training, company account opening, and project proposals.

A partnership program for larger projects called for larger investments, where participants put in hundreds of dollars into mining, farming, and opening schools and hospitals.

These partners were promised US$15,000. Since then, participants have been asked to pay various fees, including registration, project proposals, training, strategic plans, and company account fees.

Sources said every month, the organisation introduces new fees to extract more money from people.

Scholarship Scheme

Parents registered their primary and high school children for fees sponsorship by paying US$10.

More Than Conquerors Trust would cover their school fees and build schools where registered children would receive free education.

Another scheme allegedly gives university sponsorship packages for a registration fee of US$100.

Housing Program

Participants paid US$150 for registration and monthly payments ranging from US$25 to US$50.

Monthly Allowances

Widows, single parents, the elderly, and the disabled paid US$10 to US$15 registration fee.

In return they would receive monthly allowances.

"I was living in South Africa all this time, sending money to my mother, sister, and nieces for these projects, but nothing came of it. All they do is take people's money, month after month.

Another source said fear of missing out on benefits have kept people paying more and more and not making police reports.

“If a person misses a payment, they are immediately removed from the WhatsApp group and threatened that they will not benefit when investors arrive. I have lost a lot of money to this bogus NGO. They only accept USD, and occasionally EcoCash, but mostly USD. I would send money through Mukuru when my mother couldn't visit the offices due to her old age," said another informant who shared screenshots of the remittances.

Three others, Chido, Felistas, and Joshua alleged that they were duped out of US$100 each through a fraudulent scholarship program.

"I met them at Joina City, where they told me about the scholarships. I got interested, so I paid the money. They informed me that I had been awarded the scholarship and even sent a confirmation letter," Chido said. She said nothing came out of it and her money seems to have gone down the drain.

Zim Now reached out to Zeze and Mutambirwa on their mobile phones but they did not pick any calls and did not respond to messages.

Emily Jiri said she is just an employee and referred questions to the unresponsive Zeze and Mutambirwa.

"Yes, I work for More Than Conquerors Trust, but I cannot answer your questions because I am just an employee. You should talk to them directly; they will help you," Jiri said.

A former employee confirmed that indeed the organisation has collected money under various schemes and has never paid out any of the promised benefits.

“I worked there for a while and when I realised that it was a Ponzi scheme, I quit. I could not in good conscience continue to earn a salary that I knew was paid for by poor people who thought they were investing in breaking the poverty cycle. My conscience bothered me until I quit,” the employee said.

The former staffer provided Zim Now with files including cash collections and data bases for the various schemes.

None of the people alleging to have been defrauded have filed any reports with the police. Some said they kept on hoping that the promised benefits would come while time flew by.

Some of them told Zim Now that they did not know how to make the report and were also not very confident that justice would prevail.

A lawyer who asked not to be named said it is true that the system can frustrate poor people and where small amounts have been lost, people often just don’t have more to invest into seeing justice done.

“For example if you have lost $100, the cost of hiring a lawyer to recover that becomes prohibitive. Also as a country we do not have a great record of the victims getting compensation. Then there is the aspect of ignorance of the law. Most people don’t understand how the law works so they just think reporting is a waste of time.”

The lawyer said that corruption in the justice system also works against victims.

“It has become common cause that well connected people with money to pay bribes can frustrate victims. The person is arrested then released on bail. The case keeps on being postponed until the victims lose energy and no longer come to court. Then in their absence an application for removal from further remand is granted, meaning that the State has to proceed by way of Summons. Or even a dismissal is granted. That’s the end of the story,” the lawyer said.

The lawyer advised the affected people who feel that feel they have been duped to come together and file a class action report.

“This is where all those claiming to be victims make a report under one case number and it is tried as one in court. Just a few representatives will need to attend court and stand as witnesses. Everyone else must go to the specific police station and file their report under the case number, presenting any evidence such as receipts and contracts,” he advised.