Following last week’s explosive front page exclusive story on a Phoenix family who were allegedly caught in a lucrative Ponzi scheme as they siphoned millions in hard-earned cash from local investors, more individuals have come forward, claiming to have fallen in the same trap as other investors.

The Balraj family, consisting of father, Ash, mother, Meera, and son, Akhil, face charges of fraud and money laundering, with their last appearance in the Chatsworth Magistrate Court seeing the trio make bail of R10, 000 each.

As previously reported, Captain Carmen Rhynes of the eThekwini District SAPS communications unit explained how the three accused, aged between 29 and 57, allegedly trapped unsuspecting victims.

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“The alleged modus operandi involved three family members, who are accused of repeatedly establishing new businesses to attract investors under false pretences. According to the investigation, one accused would register a company, such as a trucking business, and recruit investors to fund the venture. To create the impression that the business was legitimate and profitable, investors would allegedly receive an initial payment, presented as the first successful return on their investment. Shortly thereafter, investors would allegedly be informed that the business had suffered a setback, such as a truck being involved in an accident or the company experiencing financial difficulties that resulted in its closure. It is further alleged that another family member would then establish a new business and repeat the same process with a new group of investors. It is alleged that this pattern continued among the three family members, with each opening successive businesses and using the same method to solicit investments, creating what is believed to have been a recurring fraudulent scheme,” explained Cpt Rhynes.

When speaking to multiple victims, who came forward over the past week, the trio, headed by Ash, portrayed themselves as God-fearing individuals, displaying impeccable values and morals, before allegedly proposing their money-making scheme.

One victim explained that they met with the Balraj family in 2019, when Mrs Balraj ordered a ring from their stall at a North Beach flea market where they sold costume jewellery.  

“Upon visiting the residence of Ash Balraj, it was evident that he and his family present themselves as devout individuals who publicly advocate for moral and spiritual integrity. If you walk inside his residence, you feel like you are walking into an ashram, with pictures of Godly figures on the walls and several other spiritual artefacts. Furthermore, our family provided substantial personal support to his family during a severe medical crisis when Balraj was in intensive care. In light of this history of mutual support and their outward commitment to ethical standards, Mr Balraj’s subsequent actions – specifically defrauding our family financially and causing adverse reporting against my name with the credit bureau – represent a severe, bad-faith breach of trust and defrauded us of monies that was due to us,” one victim claimed.

A well-known businessman also came forward, who explained that he was allegedly approached by Ash, who acted under the banner of South African Road Freight.

The victim, who owns a logistics company with his wife, agreed in 2023 to conduct certain deliveries for a separate, multi-national company on behalf of SARF. The victim alleges that Ash claimed that SARF would pay the victim when they received payment from the multi-national company, which would be paid at the same rate that the company paid SARF.

The victim alleged, “We completed all of the work as directed by SARF. We then made countless follow-ups with Mr and Mrs Balraj while meeting them and for payments, to no avail. Mr and Mrs Balraj’s sons were also involved in the transactions. Our company suffered losses exceeding R200, 000 as a result of the above transaction and misrepresentations made. We then instituted an application at Durban Regional Court for the multi-national company to make direct payment to us, due to the break in the trust relationship between the parties. This was after we became aware of other members of the community, and via social media platforms, that the representatives of SARF appeared to be scammers. The application was instituted in February, 2024, and there have been various delays occasioned at the instance of SARF. Since then, we have been engaged in this battle, with the case being adjourned over and over again. We believe that, in a bid to stall, the Balraj’s have used every trick in the book. For example, thus far, they have gone through three attorneys. In July of this year, the court adjourned the matter to October for oral evidence to be led by the parties.”

The victim further alleged that on one of Meera’s affidavits, she mentions that her husband and children have no dealings in the business of SARF.

Of these children, only one, Akhil, has been charged, while law enforcement has not made any indication that the other would be arrested or face charges in a similar manner. The victim alleges that this is perjury as the aforementioned parties played a crucial role in organising the logistics of the deal in addition to other, less than savoury activities.

“I told the Balraj family that the three horse and trailers, supplied by our company, have tracking devices fitted on them. It was brought to my attention by the drivers that Meera and her children instructed a reputable tracking company to fit additional trackers onto the three trucks with consent from myself and my wife. This was not the case, however, and these devices were forcefully fitted without our consent. I called the tracking company, and they sent me a contractual agreement signed by Meera with her sons signing as witnesses to have them fitted. I do have a copy of this contract from the tracking company upon my request and dispute. The company immediately had those tracking units removed. Again, this is perjury and fraud. We have made numerous calls and attempts to have the payments that are due to us made for work done, but Ash kept on making excuses upon excuses to delay payments to us, as he mentioned and sent us an obscured picture of himself having dialysis. Thereafter, in December 2023, he then said that he was admitted to Umhlanga Hospital for COVID-19. When asked why Meera could not make payments to us, as she is the sole director of the business, he came up with an excuse that only he has authorisation to make payments and she does not know how to. It was then that we learnt from others and social media that they use fake trucking businesses to lure clients to invest; that’s their modus operandi. Apparently, they opened about seven trucking companies as a formality amongst the Balraj family to defraud people before closing the company. They make this a civil matter as they believe that they know loopholes in the law,” the victim alleged.

One of the Balrajs’ legal representatives, a Mrs Harricharan, contacted the Rising Sun offices last week, claiming that her clients had been the victims of harassment following the publishing of the article, along with the contents of the story containing ‘lies’ and facts about the case which were ‘simply untrue’.

Furthermore, she claimed that her clients were not given a chance to respond to the allegations.

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Despite these claims, the attorney never revealed what was incorrect or what the Balraj family had to say for themselves in terms of these allegations.

It was then that the group editor of the Rising Sun Community Newspapers, Mr Vivaga Thambiran, extended an olive branch, offering the family and their legal representatives the chance to respond to all allegations against them, as well as a comment on what exactly occurred from their point of view.

As the days passed by, up until this article was written and published, no communication had been received from the Balraj family or their attorneys.