The Pretoria Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority has been granted a preservation order of over R4,3 million by the Pretoria High Court to freeze the bank account belonging to Piggy Farm Trading.
It’s believed the company ran a Ponzi Scheme, where individuals could purchase up to 50 virtual pigs at R2 750 each, in a digital metaverse pig farm.
After receiving complaints from investors, the National Consumer Commission initiated an investigation, where they discovered that the farm trading operated a multiplication scheme, which offered an effective return of 140%, which far exceeds the repo rate.
NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana,says this is a contravention of the National Consumer Protection Act and the whole scheme appeared to be a fraud.
“The Piggy Farm Trading company ran a Ponzi scheme, where individuals could purchase up to 50 virtual pigs at R2 750 per pig. In return for investment, the investor will be paid R550 per month for 12 months, and after 12 months, the pig will be returned to Piggy Farm Trading. The Regional Head of Pretoria AFU Martin Mafojane, welcomes the order and warns members of the public against investing in schemes like this, where the promised returns of investments far exceed the interest rates offered by reputable institutions.”
