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Wool over eyes

THE arrest in the United States of fugitive Walter Wright, who ran a pyramid scheme believed to have netted more than R20million more than a decade ago, opens wounds that had almost healed for thousands of investors in the townships.

THE arrest in the United States of fugitive Walter Wright, who ran a pyramid scheme believed to have netted more than R20million more than a decade ago, opens wounds that had almost healed for thousands of investors in the townships.

Though the collapse of Wright's pyramid company hit the headlines at the time, alerting the public to the dangers of such schemes, it did not, however, stop the proliferation of similar schemes with just as risky results for unsuspecting investors.

Still unfathomable to the public is the unsustainability of the business model that underlies such schemes, which essentially rely on continuous recruitment of members to be able to pay promised returns.

Heartbreak begins when new members fail to join, inadvertently prompting the collapse of the scheme.

Still, few heed this warning.

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