Thulani Khoza - the high-flying entrepreneur behind the first "South African-produced smartphone" and a sought-after motivational speaker - is apparently a con artist .

Khoza, 30, has made waves since the beginning of the year but has been accused of misleading the public about owning a company called Thules Telecoms with a supposed annual turnover of R120-million, which he announced would launch his T-Touch smartphones and tablets.

The launch of the device has been postponed twice since the initial date sometime in August. This was despite almost one million units that Khoza claimed to have been pre-ordered. However, after verifying the information on Khoza's well-crafted business profile and resumé, Sowetan can reveal that:

• Khoza does not own Thules Telecoms, the company he had said would produce the smartphone. The business is solely registered to Beatrice Mashego, who has 100% shareholding, according to a legal company search;
• Khoza did not graduate with a BSc degree from Wits University in 2006 or with an MBA from Harvard in America in 2014 as stated in his resumé;
• Thules Telecoms did not sign a contract with Neotel in 2014, as Khoza's company profile claims. In fact, Neotel does not have any records of him or his company.
• Neotel spokesperson Sandra Sowray said: "Neotel is unaware of and cannot locate any records relating to Thulani Khoza or the company Thules Communications.";
• The two companies Siza Networks Telecommunication and Mihloti Holdings he claimed to own also do not exist on the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission records; and
• Three weeks ago Khoza won the SA Men of the Year Awards science and technology category that "acknowledges an individual that has played a significant role in ensuring community development in science and technology".

Bongani Ngomane, chairman of the awards, admitted there could have been loopholes in their verification processes of candidates' credentials. He said a state security agency is currently verifying Khoza's documents and if anything is found to be untoward, he could face criminal charges for misrepresentation.

"This is bad. Thank God we have not paid him the [R15000] cash prize yet. We will investigate the matter," he said. One of the criteria is that candidates must present a credible portfolio to the adjudicators.

Sowetan spoke to three people Khoza allegedly duped, including Makhosazane Nkonyane, a lawyer who co-owns a business consultancy company.

Nkonyane said Khoza used their services in May this year to help build a business analysis to franchise his company.

"We provided a service to him with the aim of building a retainer as we saw potential in his business. It took us three weeks to help him and he is yet to pay us," Nkonyane said.

They should have been paid within three months. Nkonyane estimated that Khoza owed them about R50000.

A source who knows Khoza, who did not want to be named because he feared for his life, said he worked with Khoza for a few months and pestered him to take him to the factory in Nelspruit where the phones were supposed to be manufactured, only to be taken to a dilapidated, empty building .

"That shocked me ... I had expected to see 73 technicians he bragged were hard at work, making phones because the launch was a few days away. I then realised his company doesn't exist."

A woman who was promised a CEO position in Khoza's company told Sowetan she pulled out after he could not give her a written offer as promised.

Priscilla Morley, general manager at the Association of SA Black Actuarial Professionals, said they banned Khoza from the organisation three years ago.

"He was a guest speaker in our organisation, speaking to university students, but then he started recruiting them to work for him. He made them do computer and marketing jobs for his company. We then banned him," Morley said.

She said they banned him as he was not paying the students.

Khoza initially told Sowetan about studying at Wits and then abroad, and how that was a "big culture shock" for him.

Wits spokeswoman Shirona Patel said they did not have records of Khoza ever studying there.

"The university can find no record on our system of a Mr Thulani Khoza having graduated from the university with a BSc degree in 2006," she said.

Khoza also claimed to have completed an MBA from Harvard University (US) in 2014. Jocelyn Sierra, MBA registrar services at Harvard, said Khoza was not on their records... "either [of] our past graduates or present students".

Smartphone maker's web of lies exposed

Thulani Khoza says he appointed someone else to run his cellphone business in order to secure government contracts.

In a telephonic interview on Thursday, Khoza assured Sowetan he ceded the directorship of his "brainchild", Thules Telecoms, which he ran from 2006, to Beatrice Mashego, a woman he initially claimed was his sister.

However, Mashego told Sowetan the two had been a couple for some time.

Initially, Khoza said Thules Telecom was entirely his and he had just started getting other people on board, but when asked about Mashego's role he changed his story.

"That's a long story. She is my sister. She owns the company currently and the reason being when I roped her in I wanted access to funding. It was difficult for me to access funding but I will soon change ownership to my name because I no longer need the government anymore."

He added that Thules Telecoms had replaced his old company Siza Network and that he maintained he still held a directorship position in other companies he did not want to name.

This was despite a CIPC search showing no businesses registered under his name.

Regarding his phones, he said they would be launched early next year and that 900000 pre-orders had been made by international companies, which he also did not want to name.

Khoza first told Sowetan about his life studying abroad and the culture shocks he experienced, but when he was told Wits and Harvard universities did not have his records he suddenly requested we send him questions.

On Thursday, Sowetan e-mailed him questions seeking clarity on his qualifications, ID, an alleged deal with Neotel, ASABA ban and the money he allegedly owes for Makhosazane Nkonyane's services.

This was followed up with five SMSes and another e-mail with further questions about allegations by investor Sakkie Mashego. He did not reply and his phone was off.

Home Affairs spokesman Mayihlome Tshwete said: "The ID does not exist. A name search to that effect has revealed that there is no Thulani Khoza born 10 August 1986."

His girlfriend Mashego was shocked that Khoza referred to her as his sister, but said Khoza started the company this year and still runs it.

Mashego said she had known Khoza from childhood, and even went to the same school in Bushbuckridge.