Jao Zhao
Jiatong and William Chui are facing fraud charges and have both pleaded not
guilty.
Jao,
represented by lawyer, Mr Moffat Makuvatsine, and Chui, represented by Mr
Claude Bare, are accused of masterminding the scheme.
The State plans
to summon high-profile witnesses, including Cleopatra Tarisai Munetsiva,
popularly known as Madam Boss and Admire Mushambi, also known as Mama Vee.
In his defence
outline, Jao denied any involvement in the alleged fraudulent activities.
He stated that
he never misrepresented himself as running a profitable investment scheme with
lucrative returns.
Jao also denied
any participation in the formation or operations of the company, E-Creator
Electronic Commerce (Private) Limited, which is at the centre of the
allegations.
He argued that his alleged association with the crime stems from his acquaintance with two individuals, Thomas and Billy. Jao claimed he met Thomas at the airport in Zimbabwe, and they stayed at the same hotel, leading to a casual friendship.
He said he
never met Billy and was unfamiliar with him until the allegations arose.
If he was seen
in the company of Thomas, it was purely social and unrelated to any criminal
activities.
Additionally,
Jao asserted that he was not proficient in English and, as such, never
communicated with any of the State witnesses.
He further said
he was shocked by his arrest, as no incriminating evidence on his person,
phone, or elsewhere has been found. Jao
has been in remand since 2023.
Chui also
denied the charges against him, maintaining his innocence in the matter.
Prosecutor Mr
Loveti Muringwa alleged that in 2023, Jiatong and Billy created the E-Creator
Pyramid Scheme with the intention to defraud unsuspecting individuals.
The accused
allegedly misled complainants into believing that investing varying amounts of
money into the scheme would yield significant profits.
Transactions
were facilitated through multiple EcoCash lines registered under the company.
The State
contends that Jiatong, Chui and their counterparts, were fully aware that the
platform was fraudulent and incapable of generating any returns.
Acting on these
false representations, complainants deposited various amounts of money via
EcoCash, suffering financial losses.
According to
the State, between late February and early March 2023, Jiatong and Thomas
expressed interest in cryptocurrency trading to Nyasha Mudzamba, who introduced
them to Chui.
Chui, who runs a digital marketing and cryptocurrency business, became involved in facilitating the alleged scheme. The accused converted money deposited by complainants into cryptocurrency.
At a later
stage, Billy was introduced to conduct transactions on behalf of the accused
when they were unavailable.
The court heard
that large sums of money were withdrawn from EcoCash accounts:
Approximately
US$250 000 was processed through an EcoCash agent owned by Blessing Julias. Herald
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