Durban - A KwaZulu-Natal pastor who allegedly preyed on churchgoers by delivering them of their money, could soon be extradited to the United States where he is wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Lavish living South African, Dennis Mbongeni Jali, originally from uMlazi, was out on bail in South Africa, in a matter related to the extradition, when he was arrested again on another criminal charge.
Jali, whose Linkedin page describes him as the CEO of the Forex Billionaires Club, with risk management as one of his top skills, and his two alleged accomplices, John Frimpong and Arley Johnson, apparently posed as men of the cloth in the US, encouraging people to invest in a business by convincing them the money would help churches and congregants attain personal wealth and financial freedom.
On its website the FBI says the men ran an investment company called The Smart Partners LLC which operated as 1st Million or 1st Million Dollars between 2017 until May 2019.
It said the business was based in Maryland, but investments were solicited from people in various locations including Texas, Georgia, New York and Florida.
The FBI claimed that the three “pastors” fraudulently pretended to invest US$28m in foreign exchange and cryptocurrency markets after persuading investors to send them money via wire transfers, cheques and cash.
However, an FBI analysis of the men’s financial activities claimed that their actions were consistent with that of a Ponzi scheme in which Jali, Frimpong and Johnson allegedly diverted massive amounts of the money for personal use.
While Frimpong and Johnson were arrested, Jali fled home to South Africa in May 2019 where police arrested him.
Johnson, 63, has already been sentenced to 78 months in a federal prison.
National police spokeswoman Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said: “We have arrested the suspect on an extradition matter to the USA and bail was granted.”
However, while Jali was out on bail it’s believed that he hatched another plan which led to his arrest again.
“While on bail it’s alleged that the suspect planned to execute a farm attack where he and others were arrested with firearms. This matter is still pending in the Free State, he is in custody on this particular matter,” said Mathe.
Mathe said Jali’s extradition matter would be heard by the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday (February 21).
In 2020 the US attorney’s office released a statement condemning the men’s actions. They said Jali and his accomplices had preyed on people at a time when everyone was under financial strain.
“In a time of such financial insecurity, the defendants allegedly preyed on their victims with false hope of financial security,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge, Jennifer Boone.
“They used the victims’ hard earned money for luxury cars, private jets and family vacations while the victims ended up with false promises and empty hopes,” she said.
The FBI has encouraged anyone with information or questions regarding the alleged Ponzi scheme to email [email protected]
The Independent on Saturday