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Scam Artists Do the Oprah
It wasn't a Pontiac G6, but it still sounded pretty good.
But the more than 500 people who showed up at Recreation Hall in Grahamstown, South Africa, soon found out that Oprah Winfrey would not be fulfilling their wildest dreams after all.
Police questioned eight people Friday in connection with a scam using Winfrey's name to bilk hundreds of people out of $1.40 each. Three women and five men were taken in for questioning and released, and no arrests have been made.
The yet-to-be-apprehended party was apparently trying to capitalize on the buzz surrounding Winfrey's visit to South Africa last weekend. The talk show philanthropist had come to interview prospective students for the newly built Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, which opens in January. Winfrey's Leadership Academy Foundation contributed $40 million to the project.
"This process is believed to have started earlier this week," Eastern Cape police captain Mali Govender told the South African Press Association--referring to the scam, not the interviews. "By word of mouth, the community were informed of this easy way of making money."
Govender said people were told they would pay $1.40 and "Oprah Winfrey is going to pay you $168 a month for 10 years," but that the small print on the so-called applications actually stated that they would be paying--period. There was also no mention of Winfrey anywhere on the document.
The Sebenza Women's Empowerment Cooperative Ltd., the organization cited on the contract, asked for bank details and other "requirements for the improvements of the applicant's life."
Per area newspaper accounts, police arrived at Recreation Hall to warn interested citizens of the scam, and those lined up to fill out applications yelled at the authorities to keep them from intervening.
Govender said police confiscated 160 applications and nearly $280, which was promptly returned to the would-be beneficiaries.
On a more legitimate note, Winfrey admitted all 73 girls interviewed into the new school, located south of Johannesburg. More kids from other parts of the country are expected to be enrolled later this year. Lisa Halliday, a spokeswoman for Winfrey's foundation, said the school will ultimately accommodate 450 girls in grades 7 through 12.
"It is a positive thing for South Africa," South African education department spokesman Lusufi Banyaza told the Associated Press. "We used to have private schools denying access to the poor on cost grounds. Now girls will be able to get access to quality private education."
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