Stephanus Johannes van Eeden (62) was sentenced to 15 years in jail on Friday 18 March after being convicted of 71 counts of theft.
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“Van Eeden committed these offences over a period of 13 years, from 2008 to 2021, by using the same method of stealing from his victims,” National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said.
“He operated different investment schemes and persuaded people to invest in them as though they were legitimate businesses. Two of his investment schemes, where he stole over R8 million from 36 complainants, was Bitcoin and Med Consult Group (MCG),” said Mahanjana.
“He was arrested and released on bail in October 2017 after one of the complainants opened a case at Brooklyn police station.”
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It is reported that Van Eeden asked that his sentence is reduced due to being in ill health, but the request was denied.
