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How does one officially become known as the country’s youngest self-made millionaire?

You claim it for long enough that the label sticks.

Back in 2015, Sandile Shezi’s name was splashed across headlines dubbing him our ‘youngest self-made millionaire‘.

As the attention grew, questions started to be asked and it wasn’t long before people began to pick holes in his story and in his company, Global Forex Institute (GFI).

Fast forward to this week, and Shezi has been arrested by police. Below via TimesLIVE:

Gauteng police spokesperson Capt Mavela Masondo said Shezi, who has been charged with fraud, handed himself over in the presence of his lawyers on Wednesday.

“I can confirm that he has been arrested. He will appear in Randburg magistrate’s court tomorrow [Thursday] on charges of fraud.”

Image: Thuli Dlamini

Shezi, who is from Durban, was charged for allegedly defrauding his business partner and shareholder in his business Global Forex Institute [GFI] out of R500,000.

GFI is marketed as a forex trading training institute, which trains people to set up their own trading platforms.

Pretoria businessman Allan Ledwaba is the man now out of pocket to the tune of R500 000.

Sometimes, when a company promises returns that seem too good to be true, they are.

That realisation often comes too late, as it did for Mpumalanga primary school teacher Angel Mabena.

She borrowed R200 000 to buy shares in GFI back in 2018, and told her story to The Sunday Times this past weekend:

Mabena was allegedly promised by Shezi that within a year her 2018 shareholder investment would double, with the shares’ value doubling year-on-year thereafter.

“I went to his classes and was told instead of attending more classes I should invest in his company and he would trade for me,” Mabena said.

“I have lost everything. Because the money has gone, I have been kicked out of my family home.”

Shezi has denied that he trades or invests on his clients’ behalf, saying shareholders sign up for ‘education programmes’.

At least when Kylie Jenner’s ‘youngest self-made billionaire’ title came crashing down, schoolteachers weren’t kicked out of their homes.

[sources:timeslive&sundaytimes]