The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) advises the public to exercise caution when engaging with individuals on Telegram who are impersonating Sterling Private Wealth (Pty) Ltd (Sterling) and its director Mr Graydon Morris (Mr Morris). Sterling is an authorised financial services provider (FSP) with FSP number 32319,
The FSCA has been made aware that administrators of Telegram groups (Leadership Graydon Morris and Sterling Private Wealth) are falsely claiming to be associated with Sterling and Mr Morris. The administrators of the groups are using the details of Sterling and the persona of Mr. Morris to promote investments in Bitcoin. Members of the Telegram groups are promised unrealistic returns, an investment of R10 000 can yield a return of R100 000 within a short period of time.
Without commenting on the business of the impersonators, the FSCA points out that offering financial products and services in South Africa requires its authorisation. The administrators of the Telegram groups are not authorised in terms of any financial sector law to provide financial services. Sterling Wealth has confirmed that it and Mr. Morris are not affiliated with the Telegram group, its activities and those associated with it. The administrators of the Telegram group failed to respond to FSCA enquiries.
The public is urged to act with care when investing their funds. There are many fraudsters operating scams, and the number is growing. South Africans lose millions of rands every year to fraudsters. Illegal operations are sometimes well-disguised as legitimate operations. The public is advised to be on the lookout for certain tell-tale danger signs when approached by persons offering attractive investment opportunities.
What is Fraud? “Fraud” is any activity that relies on deception in order to achieve a gain. Fraud becomes a crime when it is a “knowing misrepresentation of the truth or concealment of a material fact to induce another to act to his or her detriment” (Black’s Law Dictionary). In other words, if you lie in order to deprive a person or organization of their money or property, you’re committing fraud.