Screenshot of the online interview Tasneem Moosa had with The Laudium Sun
Johannesburg – The Hello Darlings saga has captured the nation. With Tasneem Moosa, CEO of Hello Darlings, declaring bankruptcy, many are unsure if justice will be served.
Moosa has claimed she has no money left and has filed for liquidation. But does this mean her victims won’t see any sort of justice? William Booth, Criminal Law Expert, explained that victims “might lose out financially if there is no money,” but she can still face criminal charges “if there is sufficient evidence to charge her”.
“Criminal charges can be laid. The fact that she has applied to be placed under liquidation is a whole process. She has to go to court, bring the application, and the court will decide. The criminal case can run together with any small matter. The victims can have a civil claim for damages for money they obviously lost… The criminal case is something different. There, she could face charges of fraud and theft and that has to be investigated by the police. A docket is opened, that is referred to the NPA (National Prosecuting Authority) and they decide whether to prosecute her or not.”
If convicted of theft or fraud amounting to the alleged R100 million, she may face, “a lengthy period of direct imprisonment,” said Booth.
An issue raised by those who were tricked into booking tickets with Hello Darlings, is that they felt safe because of influencers who had advertised the business. The consensus is that influencers should also be held accountable for their part in making the business a safe option and luring their followers to it.
For Booth, the responsibility will have to be on the police to prove that influencers knew about anything untoward.
“They must investigate the background of the person asking them to advertise and not present false information to the public. They may also have been conned. On the other hand, they may have been part of the scheme… It depends on the evidence. That all has to be investigated. We are actually looking at quite an intensive criminal investigation as well civil investigation in respect to any civil plans that the victims have. The police must check all of this out, everybody must go to them [the police], they must question the people placing these advertisements.”
According to Gail Schimmel, CEO of the Advertising Regulatory Board, “Influencers… Have to have ‘hashtag ad’ or ‘hashtag sponsored’ if they do a post on Twitter or on Instagram. They have to indicate when they’ve been paid to do the advertising. and when we talk about paid to do the advertising that includes if they’ve been given something for free. if they’ve been given anything in exchange for the view that they are now sharing about a product, that is a paid for ad and they have to use hashtag ad [#Advert] or hashtag sponsored [#Sponsored] or something that informs the consumer that this was not their spontaneous opinion, this was something that they were given something in exchange for.”
A comment doing the rounds on social media platforms is that ‘sometimes if something is too good to be true, it probably is’. What are some of the ways to spot a Ponzi scheme and not get pulled into one? Booth explained that investigation is always necessary. In addition, check that your travel agent is registered with the relevant travel boards.
“One must investigate. It’s the same if you are asked to invest large sums of money and you are promised amazing interest rates which are beyond what is out there in the marketplace, and so you need to check up on this.”
Caution is the word of the day from Booth. It is better to double check and make sure everything is good to go before you give your hard-earned money away.
“You have to be very cautious and check up before you start paying any money… you need to check it out. People become vulnerable.”
In a video interview with the Laudium Sun, Moosa maintains there is no money and claims “stupid business” practice by offering full refunds soon after Covid hit, providing low package prices, and advertising new packages in the hope of recovering from money loss. It was in hindsight, she says, “a stupid way of doing business”. Moosa countered claims she fled the country and says she has not been living in South Africa for years. She went into hiding because of death threats made against herself and her family.
Meanwhile, over two hundred cases have been opened with the South African Police, with victims having lost their hard-earned money, some their savings, and wanting a resolution.
