Online Reporter
Zvikomborero Parafini
Comedian Admire Mama Vee Mushambi, who was the brand ambassador for E-Creator, which is embroiled in a US$1 million scam, says he was also duped of thousands of dollars he had invested in the money pyramid scheme.
Mushambi was called to the witness stand before Harare magistrate Francis Mapfumo and told the court that he was engaged to be a brand ambassador but was not part of the scheme.
“I’m a comedian who does advertising for brands on social media. I was on holiday in South Africa when the E Creator team called me,” he said.
“I can’t say a specific name of the person who called me because it was a team and they wanted me to do a live stream for their brand activation event.
“They asked me to bring other influencers and I engaged Madam Boss. I also invited my family members and friends to join in the scheme, but we didn’t manage to withdraw our money after the system crashed. The money I lost was in thousands.”
Mushambi, however, failed to link the two suspects, Zhao Jiaotong and Billy Thomas Syedou, to the offence because he never dealt with them directly.
The State believes the two are the masterminds of the Ponzi scheme. It is alleged that Jiaotong and Syedou registered their company, called E-Creator Economic Commerce Private Limited.
The company was housed at Joina City in the city centre. They launched the company as an online e-commerce operator.
The two misrepresented to their investors that they would enjoy monthly returns depending on the amounts invested, and thousands of Zimbabweans flocked to join, investing up to US$1 000 through EcoCash on the numbers they provided.
On top of appointing brand ambassadors, Madam Boss and Mama Vee, Jiaotong and Syedou also employed agents in major towns and cities throughout the country to market the business.
On July 3 2024, some of the investors encountered challenges in accessing their money and approached the company for clarification.
Jiaotong and Syedou allegedly assured the subscribers that it was a system upgrade that was affecting access to their money and further advised them that the situation would normalise in due course.
On July 5 2024, investors were shocked to realise that E-Creator Electronic Commerce [Private Limited had actually sent a notice on their website that they are no longer operating, and they posted a picture of Jiaotong as the one who took their money and absconded to China.
They went to the offices and discovered that they had been closed permanently.
The trial resumes on October 31.
Loveit Muringwa prosecuted.
