Investors to File Lawsuit Against CEO of Alleged $17M Cryptocurrency Scam

Investors in the South African cryptocurrency firm VaultAge Solutions are planning to file a case against company CEO Willie Breedt for allegedly scamming 2,000 investors out of approximately $17 million.

Breedt flees abroad

On June 1, Cointelegraph reported that Breedt was believed to have fled South Africa for Mozambique in December 2019. The South African Department of Home Affairs indicated that he hadn’t returned since then.

After fleeing to Mozambique, Breedt had reportedly cut all communications with his investors except for one email that tried reassuring them that their funds were safe and would be paid back to them. Local news outlet News24 claims that Breedt indicated that repayments were to start by May 30. 

Having not received any response, investors are now consulting lawyers to proceed with a case against Breedt. They intend to file an urgent application in the Port Elizabeth High Court this week. One investor Annette Veldsman said:

"We aim to have the application where we will seek relief from the court, before the High Court at the end of the week."

Breedt left behind an empty bank account

South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, is also investigating a criminal case against the accused scammer for allegedly forging proof of payment documents.

While Breedt himself has not responded to any questions regarding his whereabouts or related to the repayments, the investigation found that his bank account, which earlier held $3.15 million, was now empty.