Willie Breedt, CEO of VaultAge Solutions who is alleged to have scammed bitcoin investors out of millions. (PHOTO: Supplied)
- Investors have met with advocates to discuss the way forward as they prepare to file papers in the High Court in Port Elizabeth.
- 2 000 investors have lost R277 million after investing in the company despite promises to pay back the money, investors are still waiting.
- The Hawks in Limpopo are also investigating a criminal case against VaultAge Solution (VS) CEO Willie Breedt.
An urgent application will be filed in the High Court in Port Elizabeth this week against Willie Breedt, the defunct CEO and owner of the cryptocurrency scheme, VaultAge Solution (VS).
News24 earlier reported how around 2 000 investors, who had paid around R277 million into the accounts of Breedt’s company to purchase cryptocurrency, feared all their funds are lost.
Gordon Kayser of the legal firm GTA Kayser Attorney in Pretoria, assisted by investor Annette Veldsman, met with advocates on Tuesday to discuss the class action.
“We aim to have the application where we will seek relief from the court, before the High Court at the end of the week,” said Veldsman.
Breedt broke off most of the personal contact with investors shortly after going on holiday to Mozambique in December.
Closed offices
In January, after a short stint in hospital, Breedt closed his offices and moved from Featherbrooke Estates in Krugersdorp to the well-known Marina Martinique Estate in Aston Bay near Jeffreys Bay.
Following the move, the only communication members received was the odd e-mail telling them their money was safe and that their money would be repaid.
READ | Hawks investigate cryptocurrency CEO after investors cry foul
Despite this, investors did not receive any payments. Breedt told News24 that repayments would start on 30 May. This did not happen either.
Currently a criminal case against Breedt is being investigated by the Hawks in Limpopo. This came after he allegedly falsified a proof of payment document sent to an investor.
News24 reliably established that Breedt’s financial problems started in November when there was an apparent slump in the cryptocurrency market.
Empty account
He was apparently hoping the markets would recover sufficiently enough so he could recoup the millions he had lost.
In the meantime, an investigation by VS clients revealed that one of Breedt’s accounts which previously held R3.15 million was now empty.
Except for sending a picture of himself holding a local newspaper standing in front of a sign board in Jeffreys Bay, Breedt did not respond to any written questions submitted to him.
