Although Craig Warriner confessed that he ran BHI Trust as a Ponzi scheme and was recently sentenced to 25 years in prison, the Smith family is still counting the cost after being encouraged to invest in what they believed was a legitimate investment by a family member.

About 2 000 investors lost about R3bn they invested in BHI Trust that Warriner (60) used to pay interest to earlier investors. 

The Citizen reports that he was sentenced to 25 years for fraud in the Palm Ridge Commercial Crimes Court after concluding a plea deal.

Bruce Smith (81) and his wife, Karin (58), lost R1.4m of their savings. Bruce’s daughter lost R5.5m. His ex-wife also lost money, but does not want to disclose how much, while his son and his sons in-laws also lost a substantial amount.

Bruce says Warriner will probably be out in 12 years.

‘In 12 years, my daughter will be 66 and she will have nothing. Not one cent. She is now working contract and cannot afford to save. All her retirement savings are gone. A sentence of 25 years sounds like great punishment, but it is not.’

The family member whose investment club recommended that BHI Trust is a good investment shrugs his shoulders when asked about it.

Gert de Wet, one of the court-appointed trustees, told Moneyweb that Warriner previously admitted to authorities that he defrauded roughly 220 people of R1.18bn, but the trustees’ latest figure is much bigger: R1.64bn from 823 investors and the figure is growing.

Earlier this month, the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit arrested Sona Pillay (54) and Michael Philip Adam Haldane (55) who are implicated in the BHI Trust case.

According to a police statement, Pillay was arrested on 31 May after he attempted to flee overseas – but was refused entry and sent back to SA.

The Citizen notes that Haldane handed himself over to police on 3 June.

Pillay and Adam then appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.

They were granted bail of R100 000 each.

Full report in The Citizen