Former Skeem Saam actor Sebasa Mogale and his wife, Dorah Mogale, were granted R10 000 bail each for allegations of fraud as a result of a Bitcoin scam.
According to ZiMoja, the Mogales appeared briefly before the Polokwane magistrate’s court on Friday, where their matter was postponed to May for further investigation.
FRAUD ALLEGATIONS AGAINST SEBASA MOGALE AND WIFE
The allegations against the actor (who has a role on My Brother’s Keeper and worked on SABC radio station Thobela FM) were first made public in 2020.
According to South African Police Services spokesperson colonel Malesela Ledwaba, Mogale advertised the alleged scam called Mining City on Radio.
“He explained how people become rich by investing money into the Mining City packages, which the investors will get rewarded for based on how much they invested. On that radio advert, he told listeners to visit his office in Polokwane to attend the session where he and two other people would be presenting in the seminar.
“The attendees believed in the advertised scam, the reason being he is Mr Sebasa Mogale, the radio presenter. They gave them reference numbers to individually deposit the money into a Standard bank account belonging to the Altcoin trader. The alleged mining packages varied from R6500 to R253 000.00 with estimated payouts,” Ledwaba explained.
OVER 10 CASES OPENED
Ledwaba added that victims deposited the money and were told to wait for a period of six months before they could withdraw their benefits.
“The problem started when the victims tried to withdraw their money and that’s when they realised that the details given to them were blocked.
“When victims questioned Sebasa Mogale telephonically about their investment, he told them that the Mining City scam had collapsed due to inflation rate. It meant that investors lost their money into the scam. Victims went back to the office unfortunately they found that the office was closed, and his phone was on voicemail,” Ledwaba said.
Over 10 cases were opened with the police around 2022 in Limpopo.
FORMER SKEEM SAAM ACTOR’S SEBASA MOGALE’S ‘VICTIM’ SPEAKS OUT
One of the victims is Sello Bonoko– who is a former truck driver. He told ZiMoja in January this year that Mogale still owes him over R200 000 which he invested into his bitcoin company.
Bonoko alleged that the media personality worked alongside Mpho Dagada, the president of a political party called Arise SA.
“I want my money back. I paid R235 000 to Sebasa’s bitcoin company and he promised me R50 000 a month return. This was in September 2020, but never received any money. I didn’t know he was running a scam. He assured me his business was legit,” Bonoko said at the time.
THE ACTOR AND RADIO PRESENTER’S RESPONSE
When the allegations were made public in 2022, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) confirmed that Mogale was pulled off his Thobela FM afternoon drive show, Ntshirogelo, in May.
This prompted the actor and broadcaster to release a statement addressing the claims.
“I am a drive time radio show host, actor, MC and businessman who recently became a Network Marketer (with regards to the cryptocurrency business) having been introduced by others.
“I never imposed or coerced anyone to sign-up. In fact, I would encourage everyone to do their own research, especially because I know that not everyone is familiar with the cryptocurrency industry,” he explained.
In addition, he addressed the Cart Blanche episode that aired on 15 May 2022.
“During March of 2022, I received an email from Carte Blanche, with a query about the false allegations made against me. I responded to the email with all the details and clarifications stated in this statement and more. However, due to reasons better known to them, Carte Blanche chose not to share my entire response during their broadcast of Sunday May the 15 2022.”
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