Dean Visagie’s web of lies, from fake degrees to non-existent business ventures, has led to an ongoing fraud investigation.He’s reportedly an expert in smoke and mirrors and delay tactics who couched himself as a misunderstood genius. Dean Visagie allegedly smooth-talked investors out of millions of rand.
Visagie called himself a genius on his investment presentations, cultivated an image of academic brilliance and professional acclaim. He claimed to hold eight degrees, including two doctorates. He also described himself as a specialist in waste management with groundbreaking processes for extracting valuable metals.
Visagie later admitted he didn’t have any legitimate degrees in a letter sent to investors in Terra Firma earlier this year. In the correspondence he apologised for lying. Apart from investors’ vanishing funds, the only other part of the Visagie’s story that seems based on fact is his previous brush with the law.