Daily fraud update: 16th December

Zimbabwean woman accused of foreign exchange smuggling

A prominent Zimbabwean woman has been accused of smuggling foreign exchange to the tune of $1m.

Marry Mubaiwa, who is married to (although estranged from) the country’s Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, is accused of externalising a large amount of currency in the country.

She has now been arrested on charges of externalising currency and money laundering.

Currency externalisation is a big problem in Zimbabwe.

The country currently uses a variety of foreign currencies due to its previous problems with hyperinflation.

As a result, foreign exchange is subject to controls – and wrongly removing an in-demand foreign currency, which Mubaiwa has been accused of doing, is illegal.

John Makamure, who is a spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), said that he was unsure of the details.

“I am not yet privy to the circumstances but I can tell you she was arrested on Saturday for allegedly externalising currency and money laundering. I have not heard about the fraud case. I will have more details when I get to the office tomorrow”, he said.

He also indicated that Mubaiwa would face a court appearance soon.

Later, it was confirmed by another source that there are six counts against Mubaiwa.

She is accused of carrying out the alleged crimes in between October 2018 and March 2019.

Alleged crypto fraudster accused of spending it on royalty rights

An American man who stands accused of cryptocurrency fraud allegedly used the proceeds to fund the purchasing of royalty rights to 20 pieces of music.

Anthony Faulk, who is 23 years old, was taken into custody last week in the US over accusations of a crypto scam.

Press reports indicate that Faulk used the money he received to buy lots of items for his own use – including the royalty rights to 20 tracks.

He also supposedly spent it on a five bedroom house as well as luxury car.

Details of his crimes were released by the Department of Justice.

He stands accused of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and extortion, primarily through “SIM swapping” – a scam technique in which fraudsters “port” mobile telephone access in order to manipulate identification settings and access crypto wallets.

“The indictment further alleges that after Faulk and his co-conspirators gained control of victims’ cellphone numbers, the conspirators used additional deceptive techniques to gain access to email, electronic storage, and other accounts of victims and ultimately to cryptocurrency accounts of victims”, the Department of Justice said.

“Faulk and his co-conspirators also allegedly extorted victims of the SIM swapping scheme”, it added.

He was released from custody on a bond of $250,000 and will next appear in court in January.

“If convicted of the conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge, Faulk faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine in the amount of $250,000”, the statement added.

Denise Jacksone

Share

Tweet

Safest Forex Brokers 2023

	Broker	Info	Best In	Customer Satisfaction Score
#1	72% of retail CFD accounts lose money. Founded: 2014	Global Forex & CFD Broker	Best Trading Conditions Visit broker	4.9
#2	Your capital is at risk Founded: 2014	Global Forex Broker	BEST SPREADS Visit broker	4.8
#3	Your capital is at risk Founded: 2006	Globally regulated broker	BEST CUSTOMER SUPPORT Visit broker	4.9
#4	82% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Founded: 2008	Global CFD Provider	Best Trading App Visit broker	5
#5	Between 74-89 % of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs Founded: 2010	Global Forex Broker	Low minimum deposit Visit broker	4.9
#6	77% of CFD traders lose Founded: 2007	Global CFD & FX Broker	ALL-INCLUSIVE TRADING PLATFORM Visit broker	4.9
#7	Your capital is at risk Founded: 2009, 2015 and 2017	Global Forex Broker	Low minimum deposit Visit broker	5
#8	Your capital is at risk Founded: 2006	CFD and Cryptocurrency Broker	CFD and Cryptocurrency Visit broker	5

Forex Fraud Certified Brokers

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.