And so did the Forestries department and a municipality
- Last week we exposed how the Morita Forestry scam caused thousands of South Africans to lose millions of rands.
- It has emerged that the police had an important role in promoting the credibility of this pyramid scheme.
- So did the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), and the Rand West City Municipality.
- None of these state institutions conducted due diligence before partnering with Morita on events. The municipality says that DFFE introduced it to Morita.
- Victims have explained that they invested in the scheme because they saw marketing materials that included the police. They thought the scheme was credible.
One of the most valuable things that Morita Forestry owned was not its Sandton office or its fake American parent company. It was two photographs.
Last week we broke the story of how Morita Forestry scammed South Africans out of millions of rands. Morita pretended investments in it would support forestry projects in the United States, which in turn paid absurdly large returns.
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It was a standard pyramid scheme. The early adopters, as well as social media influencers, may have made some money, but most people lost their investments.
Over roughly eleven months, the company assembled photos and videos that helped bring credibility to its name and to make the scam seem legitimate.
These photos or videos included police officers at a Morita event, municipal employees planting trees under a Morita banner, and officials from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) joining the municipal employees. Community leaders and TikTok influencers marketed Morita too.
Morita organised events. It choreographed, photographed, and recorded them, and turned them into promotional videos.
It was these very images and videos, perhaps especially those containing SAPS officials, that led many to believe that Morita Forestry was indeed a real investment. The scheme has now collapsed, and its online assets have been taken down.
Morita took hundreds of millions of rands out of South Africa through a Chinese-run payment platform that syphoned money via cryptocurrency.
Have you been a victim of a scam? GroundUp may be interested in investigating. Email your story to [email protected]. Please note that we don't have capacity to respond to all emails.
Planting trees in Randfontein
Morita sponsored 1,000 seedlings to the Rand West City Local Municipality, with the initial planting of 300 trees. The event took place on Heritage Day. Officials from the municipality, as well as DFFE, were present.
The scheme used photos of the event to produce a promotional video. The images were also posted widely on social media, and were used to build credibility for the scheme. The promotional video is available on YouTube.
On Sunday, after we first exposed the scheme and DFFE's involvement, the department issued a statement emphasising that it has no official relationship with the company. It did, however, confirm that Morita donated trees to their One Million Trees campaign, and that its involvement with the company was limited to this campaign.
On social media, the DFFE posted a slightly different statement, claiming that "scammers used photos from that event to make it look like Government was backing them". However, the officials clearly participated voluntarily in the photo, and were all seen smiling next to Morita Forestry representatives and their banners and gazebo.
Moreover, the municipality told us that it was introduced to Morita by the DFFE. The DFFE has not yet responded to our request for comment on this.
The municipality also gave a letter to Morita Forestry expressing gratitude for the sponsorship. It said the municipality recognises Morita as "a key stakeholder in driving sustainable development within [the] municipality".
Morita used the letter to market their scheme.
Morita had posted the statement on Telegram, saying: "Morita Forestry's planting program is authorised and recognised by South Africa's DFFE department".
Later, when sharing the promotional video, it added: "Morita Forestry is honoured to have partnered with the [DFFE] today to conduct the first planting of trees in its reforestation program. ... Together with Morita Forestry and the South African government, let us make this beautiful country of South Africa have more forests."
The municipality is unrepentant: "There is no formal partnership between Morita and Rand West City Local Municipality. ... Any decision to discipline an official would be preceded by an allegation of misconduct placed before the Municipality for investigation."
The Morita and SAPS friendship event
Morita also held an event attended by SAPS officers, which it filmed and distributed as promotional material. It was placed strategically on Morita's website. It was dubbed a "friendship exchange".
"Morita Forestry and the South African police jointly held a friendship exchange event on November 29, 2025, providing the most authoritative testimony to Morita Forestry's commitment to green development. This was not only a friendship event between the police and the company, but also sent a clear signal to the market: Morita Forestry's products have obtained official certification, providing a solid guarantee for the safe investment of all investors," the company wrote on its Telegram group and other social media.
The promotional video spread across social media. Influencers used it to conclude that the investment was legitimate. Victims fell for it, and victims cited the video as being the reason they invested their money in the platform.
Morita ended their post, saying that they now have a triple guarantee of "policy support + official recognition + stable returns". The event and SAPS officers' participation aided the scheme in convincing more victims to join. A uniform in a photograph was a strong credential, and Morita got it for the cost of catering and a few awards.
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SAPS did not respond to our request for comment.
Why did this work?
Victims of the scam explained that it was always someone they knew or followed that introduced them to this scam - a friend, relative, a social media influencer. Many were sceptical, but after seeing photographs, videos or business certificates giving Morita apparent state approval, they chose to invest.
This pattern is not unique to Morita. Schemes of this kind are successful when they have credibility, and we have seen it with other scams. Morita held events, had venues, car prizes, branded shirts, conferences at casinos, contracts, salaries, and letterheads, but it was all a con.
What should change?
None of the above required government employees to do anything corrupt. All it required was that nobody asked any questions.
A basic check by civil servants should have been done before they participated in company events. Given that it was promoted as an investment, a simple search of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) authorised financial services provider register would have sufficed.
If you have lost money in the scheme, report the receiving bank account(s) to your bank's fraud department, and make a case at a police station. You can report unregistered investment schemes to the FSCA on 0800 110 443, or at fsca.co.za.
