25-year ban and R4.1m fine for Mossel Bay man after FSCA investigation

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Mossel Bay man Johannes Lodewicus du Plessis has been barred from providing financial services for the next 25 years and fined R4.1m by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) after he was found to have been posing as a broker for Sanlam Private Wealth.

The findings follow the conclusion of a three-year investigation.

FSCA had originally warned the public not to conduct financial services business with Du Plessis through a statement released in November 2024.

According to this warning, the FSCA had received information that Du Plessis, through his entity JLD Investments CC, which was registered to a property in central Mossel Bay in December 2010, allegedly offered financial services promising unrealistic returns of up to 36% per annum to members of the public.

The statement also alleged that Du Plessis intentionally and incorrectly misrepresented himself as a representative or broker for Sanlam Private Wealth (Pty) Ltd (SWP).

On Monday 26 October, the FSCA released another statement announcing Du Plessis’ disbarment following its investigation that ran from June 2023 until November last year.

It said its investigation found that during those three years Du Plessis collected funds from his clients and traded, on behalf of his clients, in equities available on the SWP iTrade trading platform.

The authority said Du Plessis further authored and distributed welcome letters and investment statements prepared on SWP’s letterhead and containing SWP’s financial services provider (FSP) number, to his clients. He therefore misrepresented himself to his clients as a SWP representative and rendered services without authorisation.

“Finally, during the investigation, Du Plessis furnished the investigators with false and misleading information,” said the statement.

It said Du Plessis was found to have contravened various financial sector laws such as the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act and the Financial Sector Regulation Act.

The FSCA said it previously informed the public that it appointed Aubrey Magerman of Magermans Attorneys as curator over Du Plessis’ financial services business and JLD Investment, adding that the curatorship is ongoing and nearing completion.

It also encouraged all affected clients to approach the curator to have their claims assessed.
“The FSCA will now formally bring this matter to the attention of the SAPS and will provide active assistance to the SAPS, if requested.”

Its 2024 warning also urged the public to avoid unnecessary risk by always checking the following:

that an entity or individual is authorised by the FSCA to provide financial products and services, including for giving recommendations about how to invest;
what category of advice the person is registered to provide, as there are instances where companies or people are registered to provide basic advice for a low-risk product and then offer advice on far more complex and risky products;
and that the FSP number used by the entity or individual offering financial services matches the name of the FSP on the FSCA database.

It said one of the following methods may be used to confirm the status and FSP number of a service provider or a person that claims to be an authorised service provider: