Churchman jailed for huge fraud

01 March 2013

A PORT Elizabeth businessman who fleeced investors out of millions of rands by getting them to hand over cash for what they thought was foreign exchange trading and other investments has been jailed for 15 years.

John Claassen, described in court as an active church counsellor, pleaded guilty to defrauding family, friends, business partners, churchgoers and even two Iraq war veterans out of R13.5-million in a pyramid investment scam.

About 60 people lost money through his various money-making scams. His fraudulent activities date back to February 1999 when he obtained a personal loan from Port Elizabeth resident Pracian Mthana, who had received a financial package when he was retrenched.

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