By Judith Nyuke
The trial of Zhao Jiaotong, the alleged mastermind behind the infamous E-Creator Ponzi scheme, has been scheduled for June 6, 2025.
Zhao faces fraud charges totaling US$1 million.
The State informed the court that it possesses 688 statements from complainants who reportedly lost money after joining E-Creator.
Zhao, legally represented by Moffat Makuvatsine, is now the sole defendant in the case; his co-accused had their charges withdrawn by the State before pleading and will testify against him.
The Chinese national is alleged to have fleeced unsuspecting clients through operating a fake investment project.
It is further alleged that Jiaotong and his accomplices registered a company with the Zimbabwean Registrar of Companies, styled E-Creator Electronic Commerce [Private] Limited under company registration number 2853/23, with its office situated at room number 15 and 16, 10th Floor Joina City Building, Harare.
They went on to launch the company as an online e-commerce operator with a global internet as its core.
It is alleged that from February to July 2023, they misrepresented to unsuspecting Zimbabweans that if they invested with the company, they were going to enjoy huge monthly profits proportional to the amounts invested.
As such, many Zimbabweans joined and invested up to US$1 million in total through various Ecocash subscriber lines supplied on the platform by the suspect.
It is further alleged that to make the company more attractive and appealing to unsuspecting clients, Jiaotong used the social media and popular Zimbabwean socialites to advertise the business on their platforms.
They also employed various agents in major towns and cities throughout the country in order to market the business.
